Arrival in Mithlond
by Elfwarrior96
Summary: My take on how Elrond and Elros came to Mithlond and how they were greeted and whether or not they were accepted. Warning for torture in later chapters. This is rated T for safety, since I don't know how much gore is going to be involved. Warning for blossoming romance and a new life that is about to begin, in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1: Problems In Council

Disclaimer: Everything recognizable belongs to Tolkien. Veryafion belongs to Serenlyall, who has graciously allowed me to borrow her. Gwaereneth belongs to me, as do any other unrecognizable names. The Daeron mentioned in this story is in no way the one mentioned in the Silmarillion, nor is he from Doriath.

Time Frame: After the Sack of Sirion, but before the end of the First Age. I know at this time the twins were probably younger than I am making them, but I feel as though any younger age would feel wrong in the story. I will reveal why in later chapters. As for the reference to Himring, since there is no clear statement that says it was actually abandoned by the Sons of Fean̈or, I am going to use it as one of the locations in my story, and pretend it was still inhabited at this time. Mithlond was part of Lindon, which was ruled directly by Gil-galad, and I am assuming he would travel to Ost-in-Edhil to see Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn, since they were distant kin. Ost-in-Edhil was part of Eregion, so if I swap back in forth between the two names I apologize.

A/N: I am going on the assumption that the twins are at least fifty-six at this time. It is never really stated when the twins returned to Lindon or how they returned, so I am going to mix a little bit of revenge into this story to suit my purposes. Nothing too serious though, and it won't be for a few more chapters in the story. I will leave a warning when I think things are a little bloody. This is my first time writing a story that has angst in it, so it might not be very good. But...better late than never, and I have been wanting to write this for a while now.

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><p>Gil-galad was troubled. For many months he had been receiving strange reports. Reports of orcs and wargs being killed, the corpses piled and burned, but no patrol was taking credit for it. No patrol knew what was going on. And now he was meeting with his councilors, captains, and friends to try and figure out what was happening. The whole group was baffled to say the least.<p>

"Maybe it is just a group of men, passing through who decided to make it easier to travel." A captain suggested.

"Only the sons of Fean̈or and their followers pile orc corpses and burn them." Círdan the Shipwright commented. "And they have not strayed from Himring in many years."

All fell silent, remembering the Sack of Sirion and the unknown fate of Eärendil's sons. When the forces from Lindon arrived to aid Sirion, all that was found was the streets covered in blood and the dead and dying, houses in flames, and no sign of the twins. The dying were unable to say what had happened, and there had been no sign of Elwing, either. None had survived.

Gil-galad frowned then. He had never met the twins, and was saddened that he never would. Círdan had met them, taught them how to swim and make the knots used on ships. He was still grieving for the bright-eyed, dark-haired twins that loved to swim and play. They had been little terrors that wouldn't sit still unless told to do so, and even then they would fidget and twitch. The twins had been a joy to be with; their love of his stories made even the harder to tell stories a bit easier in the telling. Círdan's grief was still there; a shadow over his eyes that no amount of hiding could make go away. All those that knew him well, which there were few of, could recognize that grief as belonging to not knowing what happened to the twins and not being fast enough to save them. Not even their bodies had survived the inferno that had destroyed their home.

"Whatever or whoever is doing this, they should be stopped. They are a danger to the patrols and anyone else passing through." Thawon commented in his bad-tempered way. He was a councilor that was known for not tolerating the sons of Fean̈or after what they had done to Doriath. He was a lucky survivor who had made his way to Lindon. Unfortunately, he had not been fond of Elu Thingol or Melian either. He was loyal to the line of Finarfin, but could not tolerate anyone that wasn't a pure-blooded elf, making him very biased and hard to count on to be diplomatic to the men and dwarves that often came to the city.

"I doubt they are a danger, since they are only attacking the orcs when they venture to close to the paths the patrols take when on horseback." Galadriel commented softly. She and Lord Celeborn, her husband, were visiting from Eregion for a time and would most likely stay for a few years. They were eager to help the king in any way possible.

"Still, my Lady, would you take the risk that the ones doing this are just preparing themselves to get ready to attack a patrol? Perhaps it is some of Maglor and Maedhros' followers who have been ordered to attack the patrols." Thawon argued.

"Would you take the risk it is some people trying to do good in the world by helping our patrols?" Celeborn asked softly, but with steel in his voice. One did not easily get away with arguing with the Lady of Light.

With those words, the dam was broken and out poured a steady stream of arguments from every corner of the room. Círdan's face was passive, but Gil-galad could read the troubled look in his eyes. They met each others eyes and agreed to meet later in the king's study.

Gil-galad could see an argument brewing, and so held up his hands. When that didn't work, he quietly stood. Still no effect. He surveyed the room, his temper mounting.

"ENOUGH!" He finally bellowed, slamming his hands down on the table. Everyone jumped, including Lord Celeborn. Lady Galadriel looked as though she had been expecting this and wasn't the least bit surprised. Quiet immediately came. Gil-galad then looked about the room. "I cannot believe that you are all squabbling like small children over a toy." He said, enough venom in his voice to make protest die before it could even get started. "Whoever is doing this has not harmed our patrols," staring at Thawon as he said this. " Or done anything even remotely resembling what the sons of Fean̈or are capable of. Even though the burned corpses suggest them, no one from Himring has approached Lindon in years. Therefore...I do not believe that the ones responsible are from Himring. There are a number of other reasons that could account for the burnings, none of them related to the sons of Fean̈or."

One of the captains, Heledhon, asked almost shyly, "What would you like us to do, your Majesty? We could increase the patrols-"

"No." Gil-galad cut in. "I want them to come out of hiding by themselves, feeling as though they can trust us to not overreact to their presence in the woods."

Heledhon nodded. He understood the need to let the Watchers, as the patrols had named them, feel that they could trust them not to react badly to their presence. Any more patrols would make it harder to find them. The Watchers had been named thus because some of the members of patrols sensed they were being watched from the treetops or close by, depending on the circumstances. Whenever someone went up the tree in question, there was no one there, and the tree refused to reveal who or what had been there moments before. No amount of coaxing could convince any of the trees to reveal who or what it was.

"Heledhon." Gil-galad's voice cut through his thoughts and drew him back to the presence. Looking around he could see the entire table staring at him, making him realize he had lost himself so much to thought he had not realized he had been addressed many times.

"I apologize, my King, my thoughts were elsewhere." Heledhon apologized quietly.

"Obviously." Thawon muttered under his breath, garnering glares from the other captains. Thawon wasn't liked by many, and the captains least of all for his opinions of their methods. Thawon had never been a warrior and so didn't understand the captains tactics.

Gil-galad ignored him for the moment, even though a slight glare promised repercussions. "What do you know about the ones you call 'the Watchers'?"

Heledhon thought for a moment. "Well, my King, many of the patrols have sensed them, but no one has been able to actually see them. The trees will not reveal who they are either, no matter what we say to try and coax the information out of them. All they say is they will not reveal the Watchers yet. Recently however, the Watchers may have left something behind." Everyone looked up with interest at this and even the guards at the door seem to lean in a bit. "On a recent patrol, my group and I came across a pile of burned corpses. In the nearby area we found the remains of the fight. It was a large group of orcs, no one could have escaped unscathed. My King-" and here Heledhon hesitated. "We believe that there are only two Watchers."

There was an explosion of sound. Only this time, it was quieted by the king simply standing. Heledhon nodded at the king. "There was only signs of two people other than orcs in the clearing. There were only two sets of tracks not belonging to orcs. The tracks were almost non-existent, as though the Watcher's are skilled in woodcraft. There was blood that didn't belong to orcs, and signs that someone had been thrown against a tree. We found hair caught in the bark."

"Do you have it with you?" Faneth asked. She was a very pretty elf with eyes the color of robin eggs and wavy, flaming red hair that went below her waist. She was one of the master healers. It was well worth mentioning that whenever Heledhon looked at her he turned misty-eyed and blushed deeply, which was what happened then. All he could do was nod and pass over a small cloth bundle, not taking his eyes off her.

Faneth took the bundle and opened it. Inside were several strands of coal-black hair. She took them in her hands and examined them closely. After a few minutes, she put them down, a puzzled look on her face. "These hairs are too long and straight to belong to a man-"

"So it is an elf?" Thawon cut in.

"Not quite." Faneth said. There was a stirring in the room. "They are too coarse to be from an elf, but too soft to be from a man. And they aren't dwarvish hairs."

"So that means...?" Lord Daeron asked.

Faneth looked nervously over at Lord Círdan, who seemed to be extremely interested all of a sudden. "It means that whoever these hairs belong to could have mixed blood, or has not had a chance to bathe recently. I do not know."

Gil-galad had also seen Círdan, and even though he hated to, he had to say it. "There is a chance that this isn't Eärendil's sons, Lord Círdan. It has been too long with no word from Himring about their fate. I wish for them to be alive as much as you do, but maybe it is time to move on." With those words he chanced a look at the Mariner.

Círdan looked at him as though he couldn't believe what was just said to him, then he abruptly stood and left. All watched him leave, then Lady Galadriel turned back to the king with a question in her eyes. The king nodded and she rose to go after him. Lord Celeborn stayed behind.

The king heaved a sigh at his words, and all looked back to him. "Heledhon, Barhador, Belegon. Please organize the patrols as always, with no difference from before."

The three captains nodded and left, bowing at the door. Heledhon and Belegon would leave on patrol for a few weeks then return, as always. Heledhon's eyes lingered on Faneth for a moment and then he left as well. She pretended not to notice. The king then turned to the councilors and lords. "You may all go, but Lord Celeborn please stay. Lady Faneth, you stay as well."

When only Lord Celeborn and Lady Faneth remained, Gil-galad let out a defeated sigh. "I made a mistake, didn't I?" He asked no one in particular.

"You did not, _mellon iaur._" Lady Faneth said softly. "Lord Círdan has been holding onto hope for so many years, perhaps you saying what everyone has been thinking for years caused the wound to reopen a bit. You know he feels guilt as well as grief over the twin's fate."

"I know, but I have a feeling I may have chased him away with my words."

"Again you are wrong, _penneth_." Gil-galad couldn't help but smile. Only Lord Celeborn and Círdan ever called him that. "Círdan has never had children or a family. The twins were, in their own way, his sons as much as Eärendil's. He taught them things a father should teach them, and he wishes more than anything to know what their fate was. Seeing the burned out shell of their house wasn't enough to convince him that they were dead. I now fear that only seeing their bodies would be able to convince him that they are truly dead."

Gil-galad nodded. "Thank you for your words my friends, but it will take more than words to reconcile with the Shipwright. If there is one thing he is, it is stubborn. He won't let me apologize and make amends until he is ready."

The other elves nodded. Gil-galad looked from one to the other. "Well, now that has been accomplished, there is one more thing, Faneth."

Faneth looked completely baffled. "What could that be, my lord.?"

"Heledhon." The name was all that was needed to cause a small blush to form on her cheeks. "I noticed he couldn't take his eyes off you and blushed in much the same way you are now when you asked him a question. Do not torment him so...speak with him."

"I..I..I can't..." Faneth stammered.

"You can, and you should. He is tormenting himself because of you. Do him the favor of showing your interest. Do not try and deny it old friend, you are interested. Show him that you have feelings for him as well. He acts as a sailor without a compass and no heading when you do not speak to him or ignore him." Lord Celeborn stated.

"I do not know how." Faneth whispered quietly.

"Do what your heart tells you, my Lady. It has not steered you wrong before." Gil-galad said. Faneth nodded, knowing his words to be true. One time, he had been seriously wounded on a journey from Ost-in-Edhil to Lindon. He and his escort had been attacked by orcs. He had been separated from his Guard, captured and tortured before the guards could rescue him. The poison that was used on him, though, only sped up when the guards tried an antidote that would normally nullify the effects of most toxins. Upon arriving in Lindon, the other healers had despaired, but Faneth had remembered an old trick and had gone ahead without the Master Healer's consent. The trick had worked, but she had been scorned by the Master Healer and forced to receive a demotion. The king thought that she had been extremely brave and said so. He also was not impressed by the Master Healer not trying to figure out a solution to the problem as Faneth had done. The Master Healer was not impressed, but allowed her to keep her rank.

"Do as your heart bids, Faneth." Gil-galad stated. "It cannot steer you wrong."

Looking between Gil-galad and Celeborn, who was nodding vigorously, Faneth knew he was right.

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><p>Many miles away, two beings, wearing cloaks and hoods the color of the forest, watched from the treetops as a patrol passed by. They did not move, did not speak. Not even the trees whispered that they were there. All they did was watch. Watch...and wait for the time being. Their horses were well hidden, waiting patiently. They needed help, but were uncertain how to go about asking for it.<p>

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><p>Translations:<p>

Mellon iaur – old friend

Penneth – young one


	2. Chapter 2: Admissions Of Grief

Galadriel found Círdan right where she expected to find him: in the gardens surrounding the palace. He had chosen one that was more secluded and away from prying eyes. It did not matter; she always knew when there was something troubling the bearded elf that he wouldn't just tell anyone about it and would attempt to hide away in a retreat where he could gather his thoughts.

Círdan didn't even glance her way when she came over to sit beside him. She was fine with that and spent a few moments enjoying the sights and smells and sounds. The roses were in full bloom, the tulips were stretching up to the sun, and the oak and pine trees were singing their joy about springs coming. Their fragrance mixed together perfectly with the smells of the sea that was near by. Birdsong was in the air, and the chittering and chattering of squirrels accompanied the sound of a stream and small waterfall nearby. Galadriel knew that if she were to listen closely enough she would hear the water singing and laughing as it danced over the stones in the streambed. Círdan shifted, but she still didn't speak. She knew it would take a few more seconds for him to speak. It was always this way, and would most likely always be this way.

"I should not have done that." The Shipwright lamented quietly, after only a few seconds.

"Actions done in grief are not something that is easily understood afterwards. You could not contain your grief at those words and sought the company of those that would most likely understand your grief more." Galadriel said, referencing the trees and animals that surrounded them. Indeed, the trees were singing softly, trying to council the distraught elf in their midst.

Círdan just shook his head and laughed a dry laugh. "How do you always know the right thing to say to me? I am many years your elder."

"You loved the twins more than you know, I think. To not know their fate hurts you more than anyone can imagine. _You _can't even know how much it hurts you."

"I think I will never recover from the grief of not knowing their fate. I promised their father to protect and care for them if something happened to him. Well...something happened and now no one knows what their fate was. I only hope that if their fate was death, it ended quickly. And yet...I can't help but feel that they are alive. _Something_ in me says they are alive."

He fell silent and Galadriel could only nod. She understood that. She had yet to tell Celeborn a secret that she knew she couldn't hold back for much longer.

"And yet..." he started again. "I can not pretend that Ereinion's words do not hurt me. They hurt more than you know, because they are most likely true. I can't help but be angry at him for speaking like that."

"Do not waste your ire on him. He already feels guilt at his words. They were spoken in haste and he regrets it already. Do not let him stew in his own self doubt. Seek him out and apologize. Make it easier on the both of you. He regards you as a father as well."

At those words the Shipwright looked up. She could see his gratitude for her understanding and wise words and his thanks when he nodded.

"_Hannon le_, Artanis. I think I will go find him. I do not want bad blood because of words to be between us. However, I do not think I can stop hoping the twins are alive. I knew them very well, and if there was one thing they were, it was resourceful. They wouldn't have allowed themselves to die or be hurt without a fight. That is why I think they are still alive."

"That is something to hold onto. If the twins were as resourceful as you say, then keep hoping. As long as there is something reasonable to hold onto, then your hope for the twins is well grounded. Now go. Look for Thawon. Gil-galad is most likely going to make him apologize because of his words at the meeting today. And if he is not with Thawon, then he will most likely be in his study. That is where you agreed to meet after the meeting, isn't it?"

Lord Cirdan nodded and left the gardens. Galadriel looked after him for a moment. 'That went much more easily than I expected. Now...how do I break my news to Celeborn without him collapsing from shock?' She mused quietly to herself, drawing comfort from the squirrels and bird chattering around her.

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><p>Gil-galad was exactly where Galadriel said he would be. He had just given Thawon a strong lecture and was in his study, and was very pleased with himself. Thawon's punishment was to record the minutes and details of every council meeting for the next two weeks. It wasn't the most enjoyable task because you needed to be fast with a quill. Thawon had been apologetic to the king, but was unwilling to apologize to Heledhon and Faneth. He saw many people, like healers and warriors as beneath him in status. It didn't make him very diplomatic and it was difficult to get him to be at the very least civil to others. Luckily, he feared what Lord Celeborn would do to him if he didn't apologize to his lady and was more than willing to apologize to Lady Galadriel. Gil-galad hoped that this punishment would help Thawon see how important people were, especially if they were of a "lower" status. He was just getting ready to pour a glass of wine when there was a tentative knock on the door.<p>

"Come in." Gil-galad said, not looking up from the glass. The door opened and closed silently. Only then did Gil-galad look up...and nearly drop his wine in shock. It took him a few seconds to remember that gaping with his mouth open was a very un-kingly thing to do.

"I never thought I would live to see the day when the great Mariner would tentatively knock on a door before entering. Nothing has stopped you from walking in in the past, what stopped you this time, my friend?" At the word "friend," the Shipwright couldn't help but wince slightly.

"I am still your friend? Even after what happened-"

"Stop right there. I should not have spoken so brashly and for that I apologize. I was not looking to squash any hope you still had left in your heart. I should be the one apologizing, not you." Gil-galad admitted softly, looking down at the floor. In the next instant, his chin was being lifted so that he could look into the Mariner's ancient eyes. In those eyes all he saw was concern, the ever-present grief over the twins fate, and love. The ancient Mariner was also smiling slightly.

"No, young one. I should not have acted in such a way. The grief over the twin's fate is something I sometimes cannot control, like during the meeting. To have Faneth seem to present something that could signify they were alive and then to hear you say aloud what everyone has been thinking since the Sack opened the old wound. If anything I ask you for your forgiveness."

"There is nothing to forgive, but I accept your apology anyway. Would you care to share some wine with me?" The Mariner immediately smiled and nodded.

Once both King and Mariner were settled at the desk with wine, talk went amiably with the King asking the Mariner for council he would ask no one else. It ranged from everything to the grain harvest to what to do with problem councilors. The Mariner thought the situation had been well handled with Thawon, but knew that their troubles with the old councilor were far from over. Eventually, though, conversation again turned to the Sack of Sirion and the fate of the twins. "It has been nearly fifty years, Círdan. I wish for them to still be alive as well, but with no word from the Fean̈orians I do not see how you can continue hoping. All that is happening is you tormenting yourself." Gil-galad said softly, not wanting to upset the Mariner on such a delicate topic.

The Mariner smiled sadly. "You are right my friend, I can't keep tormenting myself over their fate. But I cannot help myself. Something keeps telling me to hope, that they are still alive. I do not know what it is, but I must hold onto that hope. If not, I feel as though I would fail and betray Eärendil, by breaking my promise to keep his sons safe from harm. I have failed once already, I do not want to fail again if I can help it."

All Gil-galad could do was nod at the admission of guilt and grief. "I think that we are now closer to finding out the fate of the twins than ever before. Personally, I do not believe Faneth when she says that the person that hair belongs to hasn't bathed in a while. I think she was trying to make you feel better about the twins. I think that whoever the Watcher's are, they know something about the twins. Only Fean̈orians burn corpses in such a way. Given time, I think they will reveal themselves."

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><p>Outside the door, a shadow moved away. Now he knew what must happen, and what must be done, should the sons of Eärendil ever return, something he doubted with every fiber of his being. He always believed the line of Elu Thingol to be weak, and here was a way to prove the weakness, should the twins ever make themselves known. His revenge would start as soon as there was proof they were alive.<p>

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><p>Miles away, the two hooded and cloaked beings wiped their blades free of blood. All of a sudden, one whipped their head around so fast the bones in their neck cracked. They had heard something. With no time to light a fire, the two beings disappeared like wraiths in the night, with no stirred leaf or print to mark where they had been. All that remained was the stirring of leaves on their branches as they flew past, back into the shadows the trees cast, where they could hide with no fear.<p>

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><p>Heledhon and Belegon entered the clearing with their patrol; all had weapons drawn. A quick survey showed there was no need. The Watcher's had done their work well.<p>

"We just missed them, I think. The trees seem to shake a little too hard for it to be caused by the wind. They did not burn the corpses. They may still be near by. Should I send some elves to search?" Idhrenor asked. He was Heledhon's lieutenant and had the makings to be a great leader. He was also a bit of a prankster when the mood struck him. The whole patrol stayed on their toes that way; and was always alert for danger in any form, whether it was orcs or wargs, or Idhrenor playing pranks.

"Yes, allow some to search. The rest of us will stay and look for clues, even though I doubt we will find any." Heledhon replied.

Indeed, by the time the clearing was fully explored and the scouts had returned there was nothing new to report. The scouts had found no one and those that stayed behind found no clues to indicate who or what the Watcher's were.

The patrol moved away from the mound of corpses. They had decided to burn the corpses to try and keep away the wolves that could be heard nearby. As they moved out, Heledhon couldn't help but look over his shoulder. It seemed that some of the leaves of a nearby tree moved a little too forcibly to have been caused by the wind. Unfortunately, his elven eyes could not pierce the gloom and darkness the trees provided.

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><p>As the patrol moved away, the being in the tree looked out a bit. When one patrol member happened to look back, the being drew back into the tree so quickly that the leaves moved a little too much for it to be caused by the wind. He cursed his carelessness and froze. Only when the patrol had passed out of sight did he glance over at his counterpart. Seeing the two eyes that looked back at him, they both nodded as one and moved back into the darkness to where their horses waited. They had come to an agreement.<p>

They would follow the patrol and put their plan in to action.

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><p>Translations:<p>

Hannon le – thank you

A/N: Galadriel was known by many names. Her father name was Artanis ("noble-woman") and her mother name was Nerwen ("man-maiden"). _Galadriel_ was the Sindarinized version of Telerin Quenya _Alatáriel_. That name was given to her by her lover Celeborn, which meant "maiden crowned with a garland of bright radiance" referring to her hair. I may use these names interchangeably, but most likely not often.

Thank you so much for the reviews! They are much appreciated. I am a stickler for grammar and spelling, so please let me know if I miss something. Also let me know if I get a fact wrong or something. I haven't read the Silmarillion in a while so I am going off of what I remember, which might be wrong. Please let me know.

Thank you again


	3. Chapter 3: The Horses

A/N: I am sorry if it seems I am going in a round about way to introduce the twins, but this is the story I have been working on in my head for a while, so it may take a while to get to them. You will know when we get to them. I plan to let the king meet the horses, and maybe Círdan, but I am still working on that. I will get to the twins eventually. It may just be a few more chapters. Please be patient; we will meet the twins, just not for a few more chapters.

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><p>Morning dawned bright and clear over the camp. The patrol had settled in a glen that was bordered on two sides by thick trees and brambles, a fast-flowing stream on the third side, and an open meadow to graze the horses on on the fourth side. The site was easy to defend, and there was no way to be surprised from any side. The trees would warn of danger; the stream was a quiet one, where an odd splash would seem out of place, and the meadow grass was not high enough to hide a small child, much less a warg. It was also very far from the burning pile of orc corpses. In short, it was the ideal campsite, and everyone rested easy, with only the mystery of the Watcher's on their minds, since it was clear that they were most likely near by. Unfortunately there was no way to tell, since the trees said nothing to the elves about anyone nearby that were not orcs. Fortunately, the nearest orcs were at least twenty miles away; not close enough to do any damage at the moment. They may need to be dealt with soon, however, since the trees report they were getting to close to Lindon.<p>

This patrol was different from others. It would stay out for weeks, but would go where there was reports of danger to investigate. If there were orcs or signs of orcs, then they followed and took care of the orcs. It also more or less went in a straight line, only deterring if there was a need. They were more or less a splinter group, they stayed out until they couldn't any longer; usually when someone was seriously injured and their healers skill wasn't enough, or it was something so important that it couldn't be trusted to messenger pigeon. This patrol also let the king know if there was anything worthwhile to report in the woods that he should know about. They were important to the safety of the realm, and the king's trust in them was strong. They weren't about to fail him by being careless, like Thawon often insinuated they were by not being able to find the Watchers. The Watchers were obviously friends with the trees and skilled in woodcraft. There was no way to find them until they wanted to be found.

Heledhon and Belegon stood away from the group, discussing the plan for the day: where they would go and what would be done that day. This was nothing new, since they were fast friends and were basically brothers in all ways but blood. Unfortunately for Heledhon, the topic was soon artfully and masterfully turned to his social life. 'Belegon is too smart and tactful for his own good.' Heledhon thought. 'I am going to get my own back one day. Watch out Belegon. When you are feeling how I am, mainly confused, frustrated, anxious, and in love at the same time, I am going to make your life miserable.'

"I do not see what the big deal is, _mellon nín_. She is not interested in me." Heledhon muttered darkly.

"Oh yes, she is. She is just not sure how to speak to you. Just wait, sooner or later she will come to you, and you will both be happy." Belegon said patiently. He was a very patient elf, and knew when to let matters take their course. Unfortunately, he also had a rather wicked sense of humor, which allowed him to find humor in many situations. Even at the expense of his companion, who was obviously deeply in love with a certain master healer who was a close friend to them all, despite the many times they came back injured, poisoned, or near death; Belegon could still find something humorous about their situation. Like the fact that they could not seem to communicate to each other in any way or be in the same room without one of the them, usually Heledhon, making a complete fool of himself, like in the meeting with the king.

"What would we say to each other? We have nothing in common." Heledhon asked no one in particular.

"You have more in common than you both realize. Once you speak together, in private with only friends nearby or in public around complete strangers, you may do more than turn red in the face and stammer."

Heledhon, to his credit, didn't blush. He just growled out what sounded like a curse and walked away. Belegon raised his eyebrows at the curse and followed, hurrying to catch up when it became obvious that Heledhon wanted to leave him behind. As they passed the meadow, the both noted the two horses that were still grazing. Both horses were a beautiful silvery-gray dapple gray with silver manes and tails. Even the dapples seemed to be in nearly the same locations on their hides.

"Everyone get ready to mount. Whomever horses those are had better go collect them. We move out in ten minutes." Heledhon called.

The camp become active as elves started tacking horses, rolling up bedrolls, putting out the campfire; but no one went to the horses. Instead, Idhrenor approached. He seemed slightly nervous, which was almost unheard of for him. But he had a feeling his news wouldn't be received well.

"Excuse me, Captain?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Lieutenant? What is it?" Heledhon asked irritably.

"Well...um..." Idhrenor began warily, stealing a sideways glare at Belegon for getting their captain in such a bad mood. Belegon seemed completely oblivious to the glare, however. Idhrenor's eyes seemed to darken, he would get Belegon for this. He wasn't entirely sure how or when, but he would. He already had an idea that involved purple or green hair. Sometimes it paid to be the son of a weaver that dyed their own thread and wool. Belegon would soon see what it was like to have someone else in the company who could have a wicked sense of humor. Idhrenor didn't even need special supplies. He could find the things to make the dye in nature, like his mother had taught him when he was an elfling of twenty years.

"Well captain-" Idhrenor began again, only to be stopped when Heledhon's stare turned into an outright glare. 'Belegon is so dead. All I need now is the right opportunity.' And with that thought, Idhrenor decided to go for the direct approach.

"Captain, those are not our horses. There are twenty of us, and twenty horses over in the glen."

There was dead silence, and no movement from any elf. The exceptional hearing of the elves allowed everyone to hear that statement, and all looked towards the horses, who on their part were ignoring them completely.

* * *

><p>The two beings in the tree watched and waited as all those below looked at the two horses. They were both holding their breath. If this didn't work, then they had no reason to stay and try to trust these elves that were said to be untrustworthy by the ones that had raised them.<p>

* * *

><p>The healer with the group, Nestor, was the first to come out of the shocked state that everyone had seemed to have fallen into. He made a move towards the horses in the meadow, moving slowly and quietly towards them.<p>

Heledhon seemed to shake himself out of the trance and grabbed the healer's arm. Nestor turned to him with raised eyebrows. "I will go with you." Heledhon stated simply.

Nestor nodded. Everyone, including Belegon stayed back. Nestor and Heledhon slowly approached the two horses, who by this time had moved a bit closer as they grazed.

When they were only a few feet from the nearest one, the horse brought its head up quickly with a slight squeal, clearly surprised. At this distance they could see three things. Firstly, both horses were mares. Secondly, they were both elvish, judging by their light builds and the intelligence in the nearest one's eyes. Right now, she was regarding the two elves in front of her with a little apprehension and some curiosity, but no fear. Thirdly, both had piercing blue eyes that seemed to look right into their souls.

"_Sîdh, vanima minë. Avon tyara harwar lle._" Heledhon said quietly, with kindness and gentleness in his voice.

The mare's ears came forward to catch the elvish words. She extended her head to be able to catch his scent. Then she did something that surprised all, since they were expecting her to be cautious or timid.

Instead of coming forward slowly, as all expected, she trotted forward the five feet that separated them. She nudged the hand by his side, then raised her head and started licking and playing with his hair.

Heledhon, to his credit, didn't jump back in surprise. He only froze, then moved his head slightly to look at Nestor, who was so surprised his mouth was hanging open slightly. He closed his mouth and looked between the horse and Heledhon, who shrugged slightly.

The shrug caught the mare's attention, and she stopped playing with Heledhon's hair to look at him. She then stood square in front of him, and he reached up and stroked her cheek and nose. She leaned into the touch, closed her eyes and sighed.

* * *

><p>The two beings in the woods released the air they had been holding in, gasping slightly as their abused lungs took in the air they had deprived themselves of. One horse approved, now to see if the other did. If the other did, then these elves might be able to be trusted. If not, then the horses would leave and they would have to turn back to find the help their horses needed.<p>

* * *

><p>The horse shook her head suddenly, and turned to whinny at her companion, who looked up. Instead of seeming to be friendly like her companion, this horse had her ears pulled back, a sure sign that she wasn't very friendly.<p>

Nestor walked towards her, but she backed away and snorted. Her ears became pinned and she seemed to glare at him. "Careful, Nestor." Heledhon warned. "She may charge."

Nestor nodded and made a move towards the bad-tempered mare. Instead of going nearer, however, the only thing Nestor did was extend his hand. The mare, in turn, seemed to think over her options and decided to walk over slowly. She stopped a few feet away and extended her nose. Her nostrils, however, didn't move to indicate she was trying to catch his scent. Nestor noticed this and took a slow, measured step forward. The mare didn't move a muscle. Nestor then blew into her nostrils. She caught the scent, and then seemed to consider things carefully. Her blue eyes seemed to pierce his skin and look into his soul when she made eye contact. Nestor, though clearly unnerved by how deeply she was regarding him, didn't move away. The mare, ears no longer pinned but still pulled back, then gently lipped Nestor's outstretched hand with her soft lips.

Nestor seemed to understand her acceptance, and gently started stroking her nose. He then moved on to her neck, and started looked her over, being very impressed by how strong and supple she was. Something on her back, however, made him freeze and hiss.

"Nestor?" Belegon asked softly, having heard the hiss. He was next to Heledhon, and the mare with them was enjoying the attention the two elves were giving her. Whenever one stopped stroking her, she started nudging and gently nipping them until they started again. There was no malice in her nips, and they were so gentle they were hardly felt.

Nestor looked over at the two of them. "She has a massive open sore on her back. Let us see if we can get them to camp to tend it." was all Nestor said. Heledhon nodded.

Heledhon looked over at the mare he was still stroking. "Will you come with me, _penneth_?" he asked quietly. He and Belegon started to walk back towards the camp. At first, nothing. But the surprise on the other elves faces in the camp spoke more loudly than words as footfalls could be heard following behind. Looking back, Heledhon saw that the other mare had left Nestor to follow her friend. Heledhon looked back to the front, nodding and smiling slightly to the others as he led the two strange horses into camp.

* * *

><p>The beings that watched from the trees again let out the breaths they didn't realize they were holding as the second mare seemed to accept the elf that went to her. He saw the sore on her back and said something to his companion that had been joined by another that he seemed close to at the first mare, who in turn said something to her, then turned and started walking back to the camp. Both horses followed.<p>

The beings turned and looked at each other. In each others eyes they both saw the mutual relief that their plan was working well so far. They turned back to the camp to see what happened next. They knew their horses and knew what to expect. Both had arrows ready if they thought their horses were in danger. These unknown elves had not earned their complete trust yet.

* * *

><p>Translations:<p>

Mellon nín – my friend

Sîdh, vanima minë. Avon tyara harwar lle. - Peace, beautiful one. I will not harm you.*

Penneth – young one

A/N: *I am not sure if I wrote that sentence correctly. I couldn't find an elvish translator to translate a whole sentence. If anyone knows a good one that works, please let me know so that I can write elvish correctly in the future. I decided to stick to Quenya (more or less) with this sentence since I think that it is the more beautiful of the elven languages, which makes me want to learn and write it even more.

Reviews are accepted, appreciated, and begged for. Please let me know if I am doing something wrong so I can correct it! Thank you to all that have reviewed. Please continue to do so.

Thank you Queen Zenyatta for the constructive criticism. Keep it coming, please! It was a lot of help.


	4. Chapter 4: The Fight

The elves in camp parted as Heledhon, Belegon and the two horses passed by. Both horses were beautiful, and so closely similar in appearance Belegon thought that they could be sisters.

Upon arriving and stopping near the remains of the campfire, Heledhon again looked back at the two horses. The one he had been petting looked at him, then turned around and went to her friend, who was right behind her. Nestor had gone to get his supplies and heat water to infuse with athelas on the fire that was being revived at just that moment.

The mare nudged her bad-tempered friend. Now that she was closer, Heledhon could see that Nestor wasn't exaggerating. The sore was on the left side of her back, and was open, raw, and angry-looking. It was at least six inches long, four inches wide, and raised up as though infected. It looked clean, however, as if someone had recently washed it.

All the elves in the vicinity of the two mares clearly felt pity for the mare and her back, judging by their expressions. The mare, however, didn't seem to like all the attention she was getting, for she backed and reared a little, only to come down and try and run for the cover of the trees. The other mare stopped her by running into her path. All thought she wasn't going to stop, but at the last moment, the bad-tempered mare stopped and even though she looked angry, allowed her friend to nudge her over to Heledhon again.

While this was going on, Heledhon looked around at everyone. "Everyone, go back to what you were doing please. I do not think the extra attention is what they need right now. We will stay here for today and tend this one. We leave tomorrow."

Nods and "Aye, captain" were heard all around as the patrol went about their respected tasks of re-lighting the fire and untacking the horses again.

* * *

><p>The two beings in the trees watched as the mare backed and reared. The both had their bows drawn and ready, ready to cause commotion to allow their horses to escape. Neither one could bring themselves to harm another elf, not after what they had seen and experienced. Their aim would be to cause chaos, not harm.<p>

* * *

><p>By the time the mare was near to Heledhon, Nestor was there with his supplies. He had athelas-infused water, a lancing knife for infection if the need aroused and a poultice made of goldenseal for inflammation, chopped onion root for the sore itself, and athelas to take away any stinging caused by the other herbs to soothe the sore and help it heal. It wasn't the best-smelling mixture, and even the mare curled her lip at the smell.<p>

Heledhon looked away, eyes watering because of the onions. It was then that he noticed the other mare. She had left Belegon to walk over to the other horses. None of them were restrained in any way, so when she came towards them, so did they. The horse that the others had deemed to be the leader was Faelil, Laeron's horse and the eldest in the group. Laeron was the horsemaster, and responsible for their care when they were injured or ill and their riders were unsure about treatment. He also was one of the most skilled archers in the group. Not many could match his skill. Faelil came forward, touched noses with the strange mare, and then sniffed her all over. The strange mare stayed still and allowed the older mare to learn about her for herself. Faelil, upon completing her investigation of the stranger, nodded her head in acceptance and walked away. The rest of the horses then came to say hello. Only Bregedon, the meanest horse, didn't come forward. He was known to be difficult, and only his rider, Gilornor, could get him to do anything that was asked of him.

Heledhon made eye contact with Gilornor. "Keep Bregedon away, Gilornor. You know as well as I do he can be dangerous to strangers."

Gilornor nodded. He made to move toward the fiery red stallion. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to prevent the inevitable. Bregedon was unpredictable, but at the same time predictable. His next action was no surprise, yet at the same time a surprise because it happened so fast.

The strange mare had been accepted by the others and was going toward Bregedon to try and make friends with him as she had done with the others; ears forward, blowing out through her nostrils gently in a sign of friendship, and making gentle, friendly nickers.

Bregedon only pinned his ears and pawed the ground. He also clacked his teeth together in warning. The mare stopped, but still showed her friendliness. She did back up a few paces, though, obviously seeing the danger she was in.

Belegon came up, and attempted to stop the fight before it could start. Gilornor also came and tried to lead Bregedon away. Bregedon lashed out instead, kicking Gilornor on the arm and causing him to jump back from surprise and cry out softly in alarm and pain. He had not been expecting it, and was surprised that it had happened. Bregedon had never kicked him before. Bitten, yes; but never kicked. Blood started to ooze from the arm, and it was bent slightly at an odd angle.

Bregedon turned his attention back to the mare, who was following Belegon to the edge of camp. Bregedon was cunning however, and after making sure he would not be stopped by anyone by kicking out at those nearest him, charged. The quick footfalls alerted Heledhon, who was helping Gilornor stop the bleeding until Nestor could tend it. He looked up, only to freeze when he saw Bregedon charging, and not stopping no matter what was attempted.

"BELEGON MOVE!" He bellowed. Belegon, however was frozen in place by the sight of Bregedon charging with ears pinned and teeth barred. No one would be able to help in time since everyone had not had a chance to get near enough to stop Bregedon or get close to Belegon, and the mare next to him had her legs braced for impact

* * *

><p>The beings in the tree could only watch in horror as the red stallion charged. Both couldn't believe what they were seeing and were as still as statues. Both were silently praying to the Valar for help and to end the fight before it could turn deadly.<p>

The stillness didn't last for long, as one being finally drew his bow so the arrow was ready. He wouldn't let anything harm his mare, who could fight orcs with tenacious anger, but would not fight her own kind unless forced to do so.

The other being reached over though and stopped him. He whipped his head around, to see eyes so identical to his own. Those eyes were full of grief and guilt, since he wouldn't allow his companion to harm the stallion. His companion struggled for a moment, but a commotion in the camp caused them to look below. What they saw filled them with relief and some joy that at least one their silent prayers had been answered for one of the few times in their lives.

* * *

><p>Out of nowhere, there was a scream of fury. It didn't come from any of the horses in the camp that they knew. All looked to the mare that had been tended by Nestor. She was no longer next to Nestor. She was galloping straight toward Bregedon. Her ears were pinned and her teeth were barred. Bregedon didn't see her right away; but when he did, he stopped and reared. The mare also stopped and reared. The rearing was the signal of a challenge.<p>

Bregedon then charged, this time at the bad tempered mare, who was furious, judging by her pinned ears and the fire that seemed to shoot from her eyes. It seemed that she was protective of the mare that had made the friendly advances toward Bregedon. She also charged. The fight began, with the mare having the upper hand. It was obvious she was a skilled fighter, and might have been a war horse at some other time in her life. 'She may still be a war horse' Laeron thought. 'She isn't backing down and knows not to put her head in harms way. She is also thinking her moves through, not making contact unless she knows it will only cause minimal harm.'

The fight looked as though it would be over quickly. The mare was lighter and quicker, so she would strike and then dance away. After a short time, Bregedon was sporting several open wounds from bites and bruises from kicks. But he refused to retreat, or stop his attack. He was fighting the mare, but also kicking and lashing out at the elves trying to stop the fight. Gilornor was out of action and unable to stop the fight. If he could have, he would have gone to Bregedon and stopped him. The bite had not been severe enough to hit a major artery or blood vessel, but it was severe enough to break his arm. All he could do was watch in horror as his horse was being soundly defeated.

It seemed, however, that the tide turned suddenly. One minute both horses were on their back legs, kicking out with their front; the next the mare was down with a scream of pain. Bregedon got ready to go in for the kill. It was obvious he wanted to kill her.

* * *

><p>The beings in the tree were as taut as the bowstrings they had pulled back to their ears. Their horses were the closest thing they had to family that they knew of, and they were unwilling to let any harm come to them, no matter what. Both were willing to let those below know they were there to be able to protect their horses from harm.<p>

* * *

><p>There was a flash of silver. Out of nowhere, the mare that had been next to Belegon attacked. She attacked, biting and kicking with such ferocity that Bregedon was forced to divert his attention to her. That was all that was needed. The downed mare got up quickly, and also attached Bregedon. Working in tandem, Bregedon was soon on his knees. The two mares worked as a team, with one occupying his front end while another attacked his rear.<p>

Instead of causing more harm to Bregedon, as they could have done, both mares turned away. The mare with the sore returned to Heledhon, while the other went to Belegon. Bregedon got up and went to Gilornor with aid from another elf. He was limping slightly from a bite on his left shoulder that went down to near where his leg joined his shoulder.

* * *

><p>The beings in the tree relaxed their bowstrings and put their arrows away, sighing in relief. They were upset about the red stallions injuries but glad that he didn't appear to be seriously harmed, since he was up and moving around. Their mares were both safe and from the looks of it, unharmed.<p>

* * *

><p>Nestor immediately went to Bregedon, tending the bites and bruises, as wells as stitching the wound on his shoulder closed. He then turned to Gilornor, who allowed his arm to be held, even though he was clearly in pain. Nestor examined the arm and sighed. "Both bones are broken. I need to set the bones, <em>mellon nín.<em> It will hurt." He warned.

"I trust you." Gilornor said simply, even though he turned a shade or two paler as he thought of what was to come.

Nestor nodded and went to work. Five minutes and a cry of pain later, Gilornor was pale and panting; but the bone was set and splinted, and the wound cleaned and stitched. Nestor then left Gilornor to recover to look after the two mares.

The mare near Belegon was still panting slightly from the fight, but unharmed. She willingly trotted next to Belegon as he ran, and there was no limp.

The mare that had done most of the fighting was miraculously mostly unharmed. She had bruises from bites, but none had broken the skin. The sore on her back, however, was bleeding. 'Bregedon must have kicked it, then rammed her to the ground.' Nestor thought.

He started to tend the sore. He washed it gently with the athelas-infused water, taking extra care. Sores were painful by themselves, but to have been kicked on one must have been excruciating.

Nestor than began to scrub the wound, ridding it of dirt and debris. The mare was tense the entire time, but didn't try to reach back and bite. Heledhon stayed near her head, stroking it gently to distract her. She seemed to know that what he was doing must be done, and that it would be easier for her if she just let it happen and stayed still.

There was another commotion, exclamations and slight curses from the elves that were not doing something other than watching, and Heledhon and Nestor looked up from what they were doing, still tense from the fight. Both were surprised, and after a moment slightly amused, by what they saw. The other mare had left Belegon, and was investigating the packs that were still on the ground. She found the one she was looking for and knocked it over. She was able to get the pack open in some way and stuck her nose in, withdrawing a apple. She bit it in half and ate half of it. She then picked up the uneaten half and trotted to the other mare. She offered it to her friend, who took it willingly, and savored the treat, closing her eyes as the juice ran over her tongue. She then started to groom the side Nestor wasn't tending. The mare relaxed under the grooming.

Nestor caught Heledhon's eye and shrugged. "I think we have a very smart horse in our midst. Those clasps are designed to keep the horses _out._ The fact she knows how to open it shows that she can think independently and use her brain very well."

"I agree. We should take care to make sure we do not lose our supply of apples to this one. I think, though, that these two are so close that they would share anything with each other. They defended each other against Bregedon and worked as a team to stop him from causing harm." Heledhon said as he continued to stroke the mare.

"They are sisters, I think. Twins most likely, if I were to judge by their appearances. Their teeth suggest they are the same age as well. They care for each other too much for it to be anything else. I doubt they have ever been separated." Laeron stated. After making sure Bregedon was comfortable, he had come to see if he could help. He had taken a quick peek at both the horses teeth to see how old they were. "We should name them. We cannot keep calling them _'penneth'._"

"I think you are right, Laeron. Do you have any ideas?" Belegon asked.

Laeron thought for a moment. "How about Faerveren for the friendly one, and Rhawel for the not-so-friendly one?"

"Good choices, as always, my friend." Heledhon said quietly. "How is Bregedon?"

Laeron frowned darkly. "I would not let him be ridden for a few days. Many of the bruises are on his back. I doubt he would accept a saddle-cloth, much less a rider."

"Very well. We will stay a few days more." Heledhon acquiesced.

All the elves in earshot nodded, and left to inform their companions scattered around the glen. A few minutes later, a group left with permission to hunt for dinner and see if there were orcs near enough to be a problem.

Belegon and Heledhon looked at each other wearily. "To think it is only late-afternoon. I would like nothing more than to sleep for a few days after what I have just seen. I have never known Bregedon to act like that before." Belegon said.

"Neither have I, _mellon nín_, but you know the saying: 'There is a first time for everything.' Even when you are an elf." Heledhon stated quietly.

Belegon nodded and smiled at the attempt at a joke. It seemed Heledhon's mood had improved slightly now that everything was calm and they were not focusing on his inability to communicate with Faneth. Nestor came then; the mares behind him were still next to each other. Faerveren was still grooming Rhawel, who was leaning into the grooming. "How is Rhawel, Nestor?"

"I put the poultice on the sore. She visibly relaxed more when it was put on, so the medicine is already having an affect. The sore was warm, but not infected. I think she will be alright. It is strange, though." He started to say.

"What, _mellon iaur_?" Laeron asked.

"These are elvish horses, and obviously tame, but where are their owners? They arrived uninjured, except for the sore, and they have no tack with them." Nestor said.

Gilornor arrived then. "I apologize, Captain. I do not know what came over Bregedon just then. He is just so mistrustful and aggressive."

Heledhon put a hand on his shoulder. "Tis fine, Gilornor. No one was seriously injured in any way. Bregedon does not trust strangers, especially strange horses, and most likely thought they were threats."

Gilornor nodded his acceptance of the captain's words. "As to your questions, Nestor, they are good ones. I, however, have a better one: Could these horses belong to the Watchers? We have all sensed we were being watched as soon as we were out of sight of Lindon. The only time we didn't sense them was about a day before we came upon the pile of orc corpses."

The other four elves considered the question. "That may be an accurate assumption, my friend. Should we send a message to the king?" Belegon asked Heledhon.

Heledhon nodded. "Yes, let us do so. Let him know where we are and that we will stay here unless need forces us to leave. We will leave clues known only to elves as to where our next location will be."

Belegon saluted and hurried off. Ten minutes later, a white dove was released, where it promptly flew west to Lindon.

* * *

><p>The two beings watched the dove fly off, and the camp settled down for the night afterwards. Their horses knew what to do next, and so they went back to their small camp three miles away to wait.<p>

* * *

><p>As night started to approach, the camp quieted. The hunters and returned with a good catch of rabbits and pheasants. They also reported that the orcs weren't close enough to cause concern, and the weather was favorable for another night out under the stars.<p>

The only problem was Faerveren and Rhawel. They had become restless as darkness laid itself more deeply over the area.

"Peace, beautiful one." Laeron soothed to Faerveren. The horse only shied and backed away.

All of a sudden, Rhawel whinnied to her companion; both spun on their heels and galloped off. The whole camp was surprised to say the least.

Laeron looked over at Heledhon. "Perhaps they will return later. We never did discover that they had owners. Did you find any sign of us being watched?" Heledhon asked Celvanyel, one of the elves that had gone on the hunting/scouting trip.

"No, Captain. No sign of anyone watching us." He said. "Do you think...?"

"Yes. Those horses belong to the Watchers, who most likely sent them here to see how we would react and what we would do. They were most likely watching us the whole time, trying to see if we could be trusted not to harm their horses. If we didn't harm their horses, there might be a chance the Watchers will think we won't harm them. The horses are probably going back to them. I am now very glad I sent the message to the king. I think he will be very interested in what we have found." Heledhon said, glancing over at Belegon, who nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>The sound of galloping hooves alerted the two beings as the sun finally set. They greeted the two mares as they had always done, with petting and their favorite treat: apples. The bad-tempered mare was now quite friendly, licking and playing with her favorite person. He, in turn, was scratching her favorite spots. He took a bit of the poultice on his fingers and smelled it. He looked over at his companion and nodded. His companion nodded back. The plan would continue as scheduled.<p>

The two beings settled into their dinner and watched the stars appear. They both smiled when they saw the brightest star in the sky. For some reason, it always filled them with joy and peace when they saw it. It had also been a beacon of hope to hold onto for them, even in the darkest of times.

After watching the stars for a while, they put out the fire and climbed the tree that currently held all their supplies, especially the apples. The clasps on the packs weren't good enough to keep out their mares, as they had learned long ago, so they often put things out of reach of the horses, rather than where it could be easily reached. They were soon high enough that they could not be seen, but were still on sturdy enough branches to be able to sleep side-by-side. They were both soon sound asleep, their horses standing below, also sleeping side-by-side. The plan would continue in the morning, and they would see how much they could truly trust these elves.

* * *

><p>Translations:<p>

mellon nín - my friend  
>mellon iaur - old friend<br>penneth - young one

A/N: Thank you to all reviewers. It is much appreciated. SaphiralovesTolkien, I am glad I made your day. I hope this update makes your day as well. Please let me know what you think and if there are any typos or points of confusion. I aim to please as much as possible!


	5. Chapter 5: Departing the City

The sun was rising over the city of Lindon when the white dove arrived in the aviary. The dove's message tube had special labels to let those in the city know where they were coming from. Every patrol had their own colors. Since Heledhon and Belegon's patrols were combined, for example, the two colors on the dove's message tube was sky blue and emerald green. The message had a yellow dot, which signified the level of importance. If it was red, it was sent immediately to the king. A yellow dot meant at the earliest convenience of the dove master. Green meant it could be seen by one of the captains. Since Heledhon and Belegon's patrol was a splinter group, their messages were always sent to the king because their patrols always gathered the most information about enemy movements and new methods the enemy could be trying to gain entrance to the elven realms.

The dove master, Dúlinnor, after feeding the doves and retrieving the message, went to his house nearby for a quick breakfast. He then started his quick walk to the king's study. This was done every day, so he did not bother to look where he was going, instead focusing on the message in his hand and wondering why Heledhon had sent it. His patrol was one of the best, and almost never ran into trouble it could not handle.

So focused on the message was he, he didn't see the person in front of him until he literally bumped into him.

Parchment went flying, and there was a scramble to retrieve it all before it could fly away. After retrieving a pile, Dúlinnor looked up finally, and cursed his misfortune. The person he had bumped into was Thawon, the annoying councilor. Right now he appeared to be shaking with anger. Dúlinnor decided to be the better person by being the first to apologize.

"I am sorry, Thawon. I did not see you." Dúlinnor said.

Thawon only narrowed his eyes. "I gathered as much. Do you mind telling me what was so important that you could not be bothered to look where you are going?"

"A dove arrived from Heledhon's patrol. I was bringing it to the king as soon as I could."

"Should not the king have seen it right away? What if it is extremely important?" Thawon snapped angrily. He did not appreciate being talked back to.

"The message had a yellow marking. If you had paid attention to the captains when they described their methods of communication, you would know a yellow dot on the message is not of extreme importance. If it was red, I would not have stopped to help you clean up the parchments. Now, if you will excuse me, I must see the king and deliver the message." Dúlinnor made to move on and get to the king's study. Thawon wasn't angry enough to launch into a tirade about those of lesser rank, but Dúlinnor was not interested in finding out how angry he could be and what he would do.

Thawon stepped into his way, however, a fake smile plastered on his face. "Perhaps I, as a high ranking councilor, should deliver the message and you can return to your birds."

Dúlinnor frowned. "I cannot allow that, Thawon."

Thawon narrowed his eyes even more, until they appeared to be like slits. "And why not?" He spat out.

"Because only the dove master can deliver messages brought in by the doves to the king. The seal cannot be broken, and the message cannot be read by anyone but the king when it comes from one of the splinter patrols. If someone other than the king reads it, it is only done with the king's permission." Dúlinnor explained.

"Are you suggesting I would read a message that is only for the king's eyes?" Thawon hissed. He was right in Dúlinnor's face now, and it was obvious his temper was flaring up.

Dúlinnor opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, someone else broke into the argument.

"What is going on here?"

With a relieved sigh, for he recognized the voice and was glad that it's owner was here to stop the fight before it could escalate even more, Dúlinnor turned in the speaker's direction.

"Tis only a small disagreement, my king." Dúlinnor explained.

Thawon was quick to nod as well. He was not interested in having his, what he saw as inappropriate for someone of his status, punishment extended for an unspecified amount of time. It had only been two days and he was hating it more than anything else. Who knew that recording minutes and notes about meetings was so tedious? He had to use shorthand, then re-write the shorthand into something legible, and then give it to anyone who was interested in what had happened in the meeting or had missed the meeting all together. All together, he was not happy with the king, but knew the king could make his life even more unbearable and it wasn't worth arguing with him.

The king looked between the two of them, obviously doubtful that that was all it was. After a few minutes he nodded, accepting the explanation for the time being.

"I hope a small disagreement is all that it was; since I am sure, Thawon, that the last thing you would like is to record minutes of council meetings for longer than two weeks."

"You are correct, your highness." Thawon muttered, eyes now cast down to the ground.

"I also hope you apologized to the Lady Galadriel." Gil-galad said.

Thawon nodded. "Yes, I did and I also apologized to Lady Faneth."

"Good, now please be on your way. As I understand it, Lord Daeron wants these notes right away."

Thawon bowed and walked away. Once he was out of sight, Dúlinnor smiled and bowed at the king. "_Hannon lle,_ _aran nín._ I could see a fight brewing."

As could I. Now, what is it you wanted to see me about? I take it isn't for our daily word spars?"

Dúlinnor smiled and shook his head. The word spars were what he and the king engaged in whenever Dúlinnor had a message for the king. It was their way of enjoying each others company, and helped the king get over the stress of being the king for a few minutes.

The king sighed. "I thought as much. What is it that was so important Thawon wanted to deliver it, even though he knows he cannot?"

In response, Dúlinnor handed the king the message. "It is from Heledhon's patrol."

The king unfurled the message and started to read. His eyebrows started to rise in surprise.

"_Aran nín?_" Dúlinnor questioned.

Without looking up, the king said, "Apparently two horses came upon Heledhon and Belegon's patrol yesterday. Heledhon notes that they are elvish, and tame. Both are mares. One has a sore on her back but both are otherwise unharmed. Heledhon says -" the king broke off suddenly, reading ahead. Dúlinnor waited patiently.

Gil-galad finally looked up. "Heledhon seems to think the horses belong to the Watchers, or knows where they are, since everyone on the patrol felt they were being watched the entire time the horses were there."

Dúlinnor was surprised to say the least. The entire city knew of the Watchers, but no one had seen them or knew really knew anything about them. The fact that two horses, two _elvish_ horses, had suddenly appeared that may have something to do with the Watchers was big news.

Dúlinnor looked to the king, who was staring unseeingly at the message. Dúlinnor could only imagine what was going through his head. The king finally violently shook his head and made eye contact with Dúlinnor. Dúlinnor seemed to stand straighter, for the kings eyes were stern and uncompromising, like he was about to go into battle.

"_Sîdh, mellon nín. _I am just anticipating an argument from Lord Círdan. Speaking of which, do you know where he is?"

Dúlinnor only shook his head. One never could really tell what the Shipwright was going to do, since not many could claim to really _know_ him. To know him, you had to be close to him, or been alive for as long as he had. One option was just as likely as the other.

Gil-galad sighed and shook his head. "Never mind, I know where he is. I would advise you to go back to your home and avoid Thawon for a few days. You know he will try and make trouble, and I know you will not allow yourself to be defeated." Dúlinnor nodded, knowing the king's words to be true. Dúlinnor was skilled in combat, which wasn't widely known. Thawon would be sporting more than bruises to his pride if he tried to fight him.

As the king passed him to find the Shipwright, Dúlinnor bowed and left in the other direction to go to his home, which was inside the palace walls, but near one of the gates to be able to take doves from returning patrols in order to tend them and get them fed and watered quickly. He decided to use the servant's passageways to leave. One thing he knew for certain, Thawon would never stoop low enough to use the servant passageways.

Círdan was in his office, pouring over a new design for a ship. So far he was not making progress on getting the keel to stay balanced. The ballast was off as well, which led to the ship listing and falling sideways in the water. He growled, and was about to throw the plans against the wall near the door when someone knocked. Círdan stopped himself in time to avoid doing something inappropriate.

"_Minno,_" he growled in anger and frustration.

Gil-galad opened the door and entered with an amused expression. "I hope your venom is not directed at me, old friend."

Círdan sighed. "It is not, _penneth. _I am just frustrated that I cannot solve the problem with this design's keel and ballast."

"You will figure it out soon, _mellon nín._ You always do. I have something else I would like to speak to you about."

The Shipwright nodded. "Go ahead."

The king explained the message, ending with: "I would like to go and see these horse for myself. They may be able to tell us something simply from being there."

"A good idea, my friend. The Watchers horses, if those are who they are, may be able to tell us something that we can't learn in any other way. Please let me know what you find out."

Gil-galad nodded and looked at the message. "Heledhon included a map that shows where they are. They are two days east of here. I will go and see what I can learn."

"And I will take care of the city in your absence. With the help of Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel, of course." Círdan said.

"_Hannon lle, mellon nín. Lissenen ar' maska'lalaith tenna' lye omentuva._" Gil-galad said in farewell.

"_Tenna' san'._" Círdan returned.

As the king made to leave, he said, "I was half anticipating a fight over this. I was certain you would want to come as well. Why do you want to stay?"

Círdan thought for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "I think it is because it will not help me figure out the fate of the twins right away, and I have responsibilities here as well that I cannot abandon just to see two horses. But please make sketches of them if possible, so that I can see them."

Gil-galad smiled and nodded. It was a very little-known fact that the king like to sketch and draw when he had a moment. He was not able to do it often, but it was something he enjoyed very much. It helped him deal with stress and it gave his creativity another outlet. Other outlets included poetry, sparring, and his little word spars with Dúlinnor.

As the king was passing through the door, he looked back and said, "Perhaps if you equaled the length and width of the keel with that of the ballast, the boat will not list and tip over in the water."

Círdan looked down at the plans, calculating silently in his head. A few moments later he smiled and looked up to thank the king, but he was gone. The Shipwright shook his head and went back to work.

The shadow moved away from the door. 'So, the king goes to see two horses that could belong to the Watchers and the Shipwright will stay in the city. No matter, I doubt he will learn anything from two horses. They cannot speak after all. What could he possible learn from them?'

Three hours later, Gil-galad and his guard left on horseback to meet up with Heledhon's patrol and see these strange horses. They would only spend a few days there, because the responsibilities of being king could not be shoved aside abruptly for more than a week. Already, the things he would need to tend to would increase until he returned.

Still, this was the closest any had come to meeting the Watchers and the king was unwilling to miss such a chance. He was outwardly calm, for the benefit of his guard; but inside he was excited and ready to see what could be learned.

Translations:

Hannon lle, aran nín. - Thank you, my king.

Aran nín – My king.

Sîdh, mellon nín – Peace, my friend.

Minno – Enter

Penneth – Young one

Mellon nín – My friend

Hannon lle, mellon nín. Lissenen ar' maska'lalaith tenna' lye omentuva. - Thank you, my friend. Sweet water and light laughter until next we meet.

Tenna' san'. - Until then.


	6. Chapter 6: Meeting Faerveren And Rhawel

The king and his guard came upon the scouts that were in the trees surrounding the camp two days after they left Lindon. They were challenged, of course, but passed through without any complications. Gil-galad was recognizable anywhere from any distance. An elf from the patrol accompanied them to the camp. He seemed uneasy, but would not explain.

"No offense to you, sire; but I think Heledhon should tell all that has happened. I will say this, though: keep your horses away from Bregedon, the red stallion. He is dangerous and mistrustful of strange horses. He is very effective when fighting orcs, because as a war horse he is trained to kick them, but his aggression to other horses and strange people that have not earned his trust is something no one understands, not even his rider, Gilornor."

With those words, the scout refused to say more. The king exchanged an unspoken message with his captain, Thavron. The splinter groups were not known for being very hospitable or outspoken. They often saw the worst things imaginable, but more often than not refused to say what they saw. They confided in each other and their families, but the king knew they would never tell him everything they experienced. He wasn't close to them as friends, so they won't say anything to them. It just wasn't the way they were. There might be a chance to learn more from Heledhon. He was generally more outspoken than others.

* * *

><p>Heledhon was nervous. As nervous as when he was near Faneth and he couldn't bring himself to say anything. Actually, he wasn't nervous, he was terrified. "What do I say when the king asks about the horses and they aren't here? We would have wasted his time, and will most likely have to face his wrath. Something that I am not looking forward to by the way."<p>

Belegon was trying and failing to offer good advice, and Nestor was looking on in sympathy as he tended Gilornor's arm, then looked over Bregedon, who was no longer limping as badly as before. The stitches could not be taken out soon, but it would be safe to ride him by tomorrow. He was still nasty-tempered and was trying to bite Nestor whenever possible. It was taking Gilornor and another to keep Nestor safe.

The patrol was edgy. They did not like staying in one place for longer than two days. Any longer, and the enemy could attack them and they wouldn't be able to leave fast enough. Heledhon had stationed scouts wherever possible to try and limit any attacks that could happen. Nonetheless, the patrol was ready to leave.

"I would go for the truth, _mellon nín._ You know he will accept what you have...to...say..." Belegon trailed off as he looked over Heledhon's shoulder at something in the meadow.

Heledhon turned around slowly, expecting to see the king, and let out the biggest sigh of relief he had ever uttered. It wasn't the king, yet, for which he was extremely glad. It was the two silver mares. Both were looking at him. One had her ears pointed forward and was trembling with the excitement of seeing them again, while the other had her ears pulled back. She looked happy to see them though, but wasn't trembling with excitement. Heledhon, Belegon, and Nestor walked over to say hello. Gilornor stayed behind to keep an eye on Bregedon.

* * *

><p>The two beings watched as the elf let out a visible sigh of relief at seeing the two horses. They both chuckled slightly at his reaction. When the trees had said that an important elf was making his way to the camp, the beings had talked and decided to send their horses back. The trees had said the lead elf in camp was out of sorts because their horses wouldn't be there when this important elf arrived. The two beings had decided to spare him the embarrassment by sending their horses to the camp. Both could tell it might have been a good idea.<p>

Both had arrows ready just in case the need aroused itself. One could never tell who could be trusted. Their aim would be to always cause chaos, not harm, to elves, men, and any of the Free People's.

* * *

><p>Heledhon and Belegon went to the mare's heads. As soon as Heledhon was in reach, Faerveren immediately started licking and playing with his fingers, begging him for a petting. Both horses leaned into the petting that started a few seconds later. Faerveren continued to lick the hand that was not doing any petting and was resting gently on her nose. Nestor went to Rhawel to check the sore. He drew in a breath of surprise.<p>

Heledhon looked up. "What is it, my friend?" he asked.

"The sore has fresh paste on it. It was applied this morning from the looks of it."

At those words, both Heledhon and Belegon went to examine the sore. Neither were healers, but the smell of freshly-ground onion confirmed it was fresh. All then looked up into the trees surrounding the meadow and could sense that they were being watched. Unfortunately, the dense foliage made it impossible to see deeply into the trees, even with their elven eyes.

The sound of horses approaching the camp caused them to stop searching the trees with their eyes and go back to camp. Nestor stayed with the two mares, who dropped their heads to start grazing.

* * *

><p>The scout who brought them to camp led them to where two elves were waiting, turned and bowed to the king and left to return to his post in the woods without a word.<p>

The king raised an eyebrow, and then turned to Heledhon. "I apologize, my king, for Laeron's seeming rudeness." Heledhon said with a bow. "He gets along better with horses than people, I am afraid. I trust he warned you of Bregedon?"

The king and his guard nodded. Heledhon nodded over at the red stallion, who was watching the new arrivals with suspicion and open hostility. An elf with an arm in a sling was holding his headstall with the help of another elf, and was speaking quietly to the stallion to try and avoid a bad confrontation.

"Bregedon is mistrustful of strangers, and violent. He kicked his rider Gilornor so hard he broke his arm, just to start another fight. Please instruct your horses to stay away. He also isn't friendly to anyone, but he is perfectly behaved for Gilornor, most of the time. We only bring him because he is very effective against orcs. Other than that, all of us wish that he would stay behind and not bother us with his problems. Except for Gilornor. He loves that stallion for some strange reason that I do not think anyone will be able to truly understand."

The king and the guards nodded, wide-eyed and disbelieving that a horse could be so violent to his rider. Looking at the stallion in question, the king could believe it. The elf with the broken arm was speaking to him, but the king could tell the horse wanted to get at their horses, and decided he and his guards would be better off doing as Captain Heledhon suggested. The elves in the splinter groups were more experienced than normal soldiers. If they told you to do something, you did it. It was better for you and your friends if you did.

Belegon then said to the king. "Your Majesty, the two horse are over this way." Belegon motioned in their general direction. The king looked and saw two beautiful silvery-gray dappled mares. Both had blue eyes and were watching the new arrivals with interest, but no fear. Their conformations were light, and they had well shaped necks and heads. Their legs were strong and straight, with no turned in knees or hocks. The only bad thing that could be said was the sore on one of them. Other than that, they were beautiful, strong horses that were in the prime of their lives.

Gil-galad and his guard dismounted. He turned the reins of his stallion over to a guard and followed Belegon and Heledhon over to the mares. There was another elf already with them, and he could sense Thavron following behind him.

* * *

><p>The two beings in the tree stared in wonder at the elf that followed the two elves. There was a guard following behind him but that was all. This elf seemed to radiate strength, power, and wisdom. He also felt familiar to them, as though they had known him at sometime, even though both knew they had never met him. Feeling this sensation scared them, and they retreated higher and deeper into the tree. Both sensed he could be trusted, and put their arrows away. They weren't sure how they knew this, but they were certain he would never harm their horses. It was the same feeling they had when they thought of the one they wanted to see more than anything else.<p>

They did not know it, but this important elf was the closest kin they had left in this world. They both knew what had happened to their parents, and there was no one else that remained of their elven kin that they knew of.

* * *

><p>"We do not know what their names are so we named them. This one-" Heledhon said, motioning, smiling and laughing at the horses antics "-is Faerveren." She had not been the least bit shy, and after investigating the king a little, had decided he was a friend and was playing with and licking his fingers, trying to get him to pet her. He obliged and she closed her eyes in sheer bliss.<p>

The king smiled. "I can see why you named her thus. She is enjoying everything around her. And the other?"

"Rhawel, sire." Nestor said from the mare's side. "She is friendly enough, but does not seem to like much attention. She is very guarded in her reactions and responses to those around her and things happening near her."

Gil-galad nodded. "What makes you think they are twins, other than their appearance? And why do you think they belong to the Watchers?"

Belegon answered. "The second question is a bit easier to answer than the first. Do you feel as though we are being watched right now, sire?"

The king looked around, extending his senses slightly. He concentrated, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, we are being watched. I cannot tell from where, though."

Thavron nodded as well, silently impressed. There were not many that could hide themselves that well and still be near enough to watch and see what happened in a nearby area. 'The trees of these parts must be very close to these two, for they say nothing of their presence.' Thavron turned his attention back to the Belegon, who was speaking

"...feeling goes when the horses are not here. They left the night we sent the message to Lindon, and the feeling of being watched left soon before that. Another thing, your highness, how did they know to return today to meet you?"

"I agree, Captain. These horses are someone's horses, but I do not think looking for that someone will have much effect. They know how to hide to well."

Heledhon nodded. "When we first came into the area, we found a pile of orc corpses. They had not been burned yet, so I think we missed them by seconds. They most likely heard or sensed us coming. Or the trees revealed we were coming. We all felt we were being watched then, but when we sent out scouts, we found no one. The feeling of being watched never left us though, even when the scouts were moving through the woods and up into the trees. We have not tried to find them since. We all think it would be a waste of time, and that the time could be used for something more useful."

It was quiet for a few minutes, the only sound being Faerveren as she started to really enjoy the petting and attention she was getting. She was nuzzling the king's neck with her soft nose, and making nickers of sheer contentment. It was obvious that she loved any and all attention she could get, and wasn't the least bit shy about showing it.

Belegon finally broke the silence, "As to the first question, sire, it is more than their appearances that says they are twins. They look the same, and judging by their teeth are the same age. But it is more their actions that gave it away." Here Belegon stopped, eyes asking Heledhon if he would like to continue the story. Heledhon shook his head, so Belegon continued. "When these horse first came to camp, Faerveren got Rhawel to stay in camp so the sore could be tended."

"Speaking of which, it is already smaller and not as warm and angry-looking as it was. I will not change the paste today." Nestor cut in. All looked at him with raised eyebrows, and he blushed slightly and looked back at what he was doing. "I just thought you would like to know." He muttered, embarrassed.

"Thank you, Nestor. Please continue Belegon." Heledhon said. He was not angry, knowing that that little bit of information already put everyone at ease. All had relaxed slightly at the news. He also knew that Nestor was slightly awkward; and often said things at the wrong time, but with the right intentions.

Belegon continued, "Unfortunately, Bregedon tried to start a fight when Faerveren made friendly advances towards him. She had been accepted by the other horses and, as you can see wanted to make friends. I do not think she has ever met a mean horse. Anyways, Bregedon almost attacked her, but Rhawel defended her. When Rhawel went down in the ensuing fight, _Faerveren_ attacked Bregedon. They then worked as a team to win without harming him over much. One would keep his head and front occupied while another attacked his rear. Then while Rhawel was getting the sore on her back tended, Faerveren got into one of the packs for an apple. She took the apple, ate half of it, and gave the rest to Rhawel with no trouble whatsoever."

The king looked as though he couldn't believe what was just said. He had never heard of such a close friendship between two horses. Before he could say anything, though; Thavron, his captain, asked, "Why didn't you try and stop the fight?" in an arrogant way that clearly said he believed them incompetent around horses.

"Captain, enough." Gil-galad snapped. He would not tolerate insinuations of the kind Thavron had just said.

"Tis alright, your highness." Gilornor said. Laeron had returned by this time and was keeping a close eye on Bregedon so that Gilornor could speak to the king. Gilornor turned to the captain. "I am the only one who can completely control Bregedon. He is cunning, and was kicking out at elves that were trying to stop the fight. He had broken my arm and I could do nothing to stop what happened. Luckily there is no serious harm and everything will be well time."

"I hope that is a good enough explanation for you, Thavron. I am sorry about your arm, young one." Gil-galad said to the young archer.

Gilornor bowed his head deeply and walked away. It was obvious he was a bit sore from the kick, since he did not try and bow from the waist. The king did not fault him for that. A broken arm was painful, and it would take time to mend.

"He will not like this, your Majesty, but could you take him back to the city with you? I hate to say it, but he is a liability with his arm; and Bregedon is still limping from the fight. They will, regrettably, slow us down. It is hard enough to protect healthy elves and horses from orcs, but an injured elf and horse makes it even harder, since Bregedon cannot gallop to safety." Heledhon asked. He was hopeful for a positive answer, since it would be very difficult for Gilornor to keep going.

The king nodded in agreement. "We will take them both back. Tomorrow, though. It is too late now and we and our horses need rest."

Heledhon smiled and nodded. Gilornor would undoubtedly glare at him for weeks on end, but in the end he knew it was for the best of the group if they did not have to worry about his safety.

All made their way back to camp where dinner was being prepared. As soon as no one was nearby, the two mares turned and left. Only their footfalls made everyone aware that they were leaving.

Gil-galad turned questioning eyes on Heledhon, who shrugged. "I think they are returning to the Watchers. The paste on Rhawel is fresh, and they have not been here for two days. If they were not going back to someone, it would not be fresh."

"And that someone is perfectly capable of living out in the woods by themselves, completely independent and without aid from anyone. They have some healing skills." Idhrenor said. He had been occupied with scouting the last few days and hadn't been in camp since the two horses had first come. He still had not forgotten the plan to make Belegon miserable, and he had all he needed now.

"They knew what was used in the paste and copied it exactly. The same amounts of onion, goldenseal, and athelas. Those horses are in good hands." Nestor said, looking up from where he was making sure he had everything he needed in terms of healing supplies for tomorrow.

The king nodded thoughtfully. He then went to his pack. While everyone was putting the finishing touches on dinner, he set about sketching the two horses. He was finished quickly and was happy with the results. The sketches looked almost life-like.

* * *

><p>The two beings greeted their horses and played with them for a few moments. Afterward, they got their dinner heated and ate it, gazing up at the stars as always. They then went up the tree to sleep side-by-side. Their horses stayed beneath the tree, side-by-side. They were pleased and their trust in these strange elves was at the highest it had ever been. The strange, important elf was someone they knew they could trust, and they were now willing to go to the city to meet him as soon as both horses were able to be ridden.<p>

* * *

><p>The next morning, the king and his guard left with Gilornor and Bregedon in tow. Gilornor was glaring at Heledhon, who was ignoring him so well that the guards were impressed. Only the king could glare quite like that, and it was hard to ignore. The fact that Heledhon was doing such an excellent job was worthy of admiration.<p>

Heledhon bowed to the king. "Safe journey your Majesty, we will be back in the city in a weeks time."

"Stay safe, and come back safe. I believe there is someone of interest to you in the city. Stay in one piece for her, and stop being afraid to talk to her. She may try as well." Gil-galad said, an amused glint in his eyes.

The patrol all chuckled, and Heledhon blushed. When he glared at them all, though, they all found their surroundings to be extremely interesting. 'At least now we know where Gilornor learned to glare like that. Heledhon puts him to shame.' Thavron thought bemusedly.

* * *

><p>The king and his guard left. Two and a half days later, they had arrived safely in the city, moving at a pace that Bregedon could keep to steadily.<p>

Gilornor left the kings escort with a bow over the saddle horn to the king to take Bregedon to familiar stables, where he could be tended, hopefully, without incident. The stable hands grimaced when they saw the red stallion. They had all received many bites and kicks from the stallion, and weren't looking forward to taking care of him. Seeing Gilornor's broken arm, however, caused them to be sympathetic, and they tended Bregedon without complaint. Bregedon, to his credit, behaved and there were no bad incidents.

Gilornor went home. His mother immediately started worrying when she saw his broken arm. It took twenty minutes to convince her he was fine and another ten to convince her a visit to the healers could wait.

'I am getting Heledhon for this. This is worse than Nestor watching me with eagle eyes to make sure I do not strain myself.' Gilornor though as his mother continued to fuss and worry.

* * *

><p>Gil-galad handed his horse over to a stable hand and went to find Lord Círdan, Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel, sketches in pocket and an explanation of everything he had seen formulating in his mind. He had a feeling they might not believe anything he said.<p>

Meanwhile, back in the patrols new camp, one of the elves woke up from a deep sleep to learn several things: firstly, he had been drugged. Secondly, everyone in camp knew what had happened to him and who was responsible, but refused to say. Thirdly: his hair was green. Fourthly: He knew who it was as soon as he saw his hair. Finally: He now knew what happened when you incidentally caused the captain's ire to be directed at someone who knew their way around dyes and paints.

* * *

><p>AN: You can tell the age of a horse by looking at their teeth. In case you have not noticed, this is before the birth of Celebrían. Her birth date is never specifically stated, so I decided to work it into the story. I am not entirely sure if Elrond and Celebrían would have met at this time. I don't think it will happen, but you never know. I am just writing this as it comes to me, so I apologize if there are a week long or longer gaps in between chapters. It isn't intentional, I promise! (I also have three AP classes, band, an internship, and a lot of after school volunteering that I do.)

* * *

><p>Translations:<p>

mellon nín – my friend


	7. Chapter 7: Knowing Something And Nothing

A/N: Hello, everyone! Thank you for all the reviews, they are much appreciated and very helpful. A couple of notes: SaphiralovesTolkien, Elrond and Elros aren't going to the city in this chapter, *frowny face*, but they will more likely than not be in the next chapter. There is a 95% chance of it happening. Also, I know that I am mixing up dates and times, and I apologize. I am writing this the way I want to, so the story doesn't stick to movie or book verse. It also doesn't stick to anything that Tolkien wrote, and I apologize to all readers and the great Professor himself. I still think you will like it, though, once I get it out of my head and written down. I am also working on Exhaustion Down to the Soul (which will most likely be finished after this story), a story involving Elladan and Elrohir's births with a little bit of time before when we can see Celebrían in a bad mood because of the pregnancy, and a story involving King Thranduil and his burns. I may feature Legolas' birth in that as well. I don't know. I will most likely also do Elrond's arrival in Valinor. And in the first chapter, I mentioned Gil-galad getting tortured and Faneth saving him. I may do some back story on that as well. All in all, all these stories will most likely happen, but not for a while. I thank you all for your loyal support and reviews. Keep them coming!

And now, without further ado, here is chapter 7:

* * *

><p>Gil-galad found the two Lords and the Lady in the same garden that Lord Círdan had gone to to find solace after the meeting. The Lady was, for the first time in the Kings recollection, slightly nervous about something. Lord Celeborn was aware of this because of their bond, but did not know the reason why. Her thoughts were guarded from him right now. She was not allowing him to know what was wrong. That in turn was making him anxious, an emotion rarely felt by the silver-haired Lord.<p>

All in all, they looked like a new couple still being chaperoned. Gil-galad, however noticed something that Celeborn had obviously not. However, he would not say anything yet. He had a feeling that this was the Lady's secret to keep and tell when she was ready.

"_Vedui'_, my Lords, my Lady." Gil-galad said respectfully, bowing his head in respect and greetings.

"_Mae govannen, mellon iaur_." Lord Celeborn returned. "How was the journey?"

"Almost boring, since there were no orcs that attacked us. One of the patrol had a broken arm, so he came back with us. He was not happy about being sent back. The fact he had a difficult horse made for an interesting two and a half days. Other than that, uneventful." Gil-galad said with an amused grin.

"I hope it stays safe for a time more," the Lady said. "We plan to go back to Ost-in-Edhil sooner than expected."

"I do not see why, _meleth_." Celeborn said, frowning deeply at her sudden desire to return to the city.

"I do not feel as though leaving it for an extended period of time is a good thing. I would feel better if we were back in Eregion soon." the Lady said, answering and at the same time not answering his question.

Celeborn frowned even more deeply but nodded. "Very well, but can we wait until we see what happens with the Watchers? Perhaps Ereinion has learned something."

Galadriel sighed and nodded. She then turned her attention to Lord Círdan, who was asking the king, "What did you learn at the patrol's camp?"

Gil-galad spent the next half hour explaining what he had seen, ending with showing them the sketches he had made of the two horses.

"Both were a silvery dapple gray and had blue eyes. The ears were a good way to tell them apart. They had the same confirmations. Even the dapples seemed to be in the same places on each horse."

Círdan nodded thoughtfully. Celeborn looked confused. "Why were the ears a good way to tell them apart?" he questioned.

"The one horse that the patrol named Rhawel always had her ears pulled back the entire time. She was not interested in attention and avoided it whenever possible. The other, Faerveren, could not contain her excitement when another person came who could pet her. She started out licking my hand, and when we were done for the night she was nuzzling my neck."

All laughed lightly as they pictured the mare nuzzling the king's neck.

Lord Celeborn sobered suddenly. "But did you find anything that could tell us more about the Watchers?"

Gil-galad shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. We could sense we were being watched while the horses were there, but we were not being watched after the horses left. Other than that, I could find no clue. These Watchers are too skilled in woodcraft, and friends enough with the trees that the trees would not reveal who, what, or where they were. We all knew, though, that the horses were going back to someone. Rhawel had a sore on her back, and Nestor had tended it, but then they disappeared for two days. They came back the day I came, and the sore had fresh paste on it."

Círdan's eyes widened in surprise, but they went back to their normal size soon enough. "So we know more than before, but at the same time we know nothing."

"Basically," the king said with a sigh. "Perhaps the patrol will learn more before it returns in three days time."

The others nodded, but all looked doubtful. They all knew that there was a very good chance the patrol would learn nothing new.

* * *

><p>Three days later...<p>

* * *

><p>Heledhon breathed a sigh of relief as they passed through one of the gates in the wall surrounding Lindon. 'It is good to be home,' he thought. 'And away from Belegon and Idhrenor for a few days.'<p>

Ever since Belegon had woken with green hair five days ago life had been almost unbearable. Nothing he had done could wash out the dye. He knew Idhrenor had done it, but the Lieutenant had wisely stayed away from him most of the time.

Belegon had been able to corner Idhrenor once, but it had not ended well. Idhrenor refused to say how to get rid of the dye, and was not the least bit intimidated when Belegon threatened him. Belegon, in turn, could not think of anyway to avenge himself yet. 'If I know Belegon, he will think of something very impressive. I hope I am not involved or caught in the middle.' Heledhon though as he gave his horse to a stable hand and went to find his green-haired friend. Belegon was glaring at everyone that could not help but stare at his head.

As Heledhon made his over; Ólerydeth, a maid who worked in the palace, approached Belegon. Ólerydeth was very surprised to say the least, but controlled herself enough to say: "The king would like to see you and Captain Heledhon immediately." She said, voice shaking slightly with laughter. "Was it Idhrenor?"

"Yes." Belegon said wearily, not really paying attention to the question. However, the statement preceding the question was finally processed in his mind, and he paled considerably. "The king wants to see us now?"

Ólerydeth nodded, mouth twitching slightly, trying not to smile.

Belegon groaned, and tried to go the other way, but Heledhon grabbed his arm and dragged him after Ólerydeth into the direction of the king's study. Heledhon was not interested in facing the king by himself; even if he had to drag his friend, literally, to the king's study, he would do it. There was some things he refused to face alone. The king was one of those things.

* * *

><p>The king's study was on the third floor of the palace, in the northeast corner, a few doors away from his private quarters and where the rooms reserved for important guests were located as well.<p>

It was to this room that Ólerydeth led Heledhon and Belegon to. There were guards on either side and they could not help but stare at Belegon's green hair. Belegon, in turn, scowled and glared at them as they waited for permission to enter. Ólerydeth had disappeared to return to her duties after knocking on the door and smiling at the two captains reassuringly.

"_Minno,_" the king called from inside his study.

Heledhon and Belegon glanced at each other and went in. The first thing they noticed was that the study was large; with several couches, chairs and desks. There was a large fireplace, a decanter with wine near it, and Lord Círdan, Lord Celeborn, and Lady Galadriel were there along with the king. All were staring at Belegon's head. Belegon blushed.

The king found his voice first, "What...?" he trailed off, as though he had not quite wrapped his head around what he was seeing.

Belegon grimaced. "It is not permanent, my lord. I think."

Gil-galad still looked speechless.

Lady Galadriel then said, "Who did this, young one?"

"Idhrenor, my lady. He is my lieutenant." Heledhon answered, taking pity on his friend."Belegon had caused me to be in a bad mood, and I unfortunately focused my ire on the lieutenant. He decided he had to get back at Belegon in some way. I think this was the easiest thing he could come up with."

"Easiest?" Celeborn asked faintly, but his mouth was starting to twitch slightly.

"His mother is a weaver. She dyes her own wool and thread." Heledhon explained. "She taught him how to make dyes out of things in nature and he was apparently able to find the things needed to make something green near our camp."

There was silence for a few moments, then Lord Círdan cleared his throat and addressed the captains. "Did you find anything else about the Watchers?"

Belegon answered. "Nay, _hir nín_. The horses did not return after the king left and the feeling of being watched did not return at all, no matter where we went. But..." he trailed off, quietly asking Heledhon to continue. Heledhon nodded.

"The day before we headed back, we had split up; two groups of ten going in different directions. I led one group, and my green-haired friend here led the other." Belegon promptly started glaring at his friend.

"Be very careful, _mellon nín_, I know how to make your social life even harder than it already is." Belegon warned.

Heledhon paled considerably and gulped. He continued with his story in any case. "My group had not gone far when we came to a small clearing. It had a lived in feel to it, and was about three miles from our first camp that you visited, my lord. It was very well hidden; we stumbled on to it by accident. There was a small fire pit that was still smoldering slightly, hoof prints everywhere, and onion paste for Rhawel's sore nearby. Considering that the fire was still smoldering, I think we came into the area before they could completely extinguish the fire. They were gone so quickly they had no time to erase tracks or anything." Heledhon finished. "They do not wish to be found at this time. We followed the trail they left for a few miles, then got turned around as they back tracked, walked over their own trail, and even used our trail as a way to stay hidden. Eventually we were so confused over which path they could have taken, that we had to turn back. We were already four hours overdue at the meeting place where we were supposed to meet up with Belegon and the others."

"So they led you all over the place, and you could not find them? And they stayed far enough behind that you could not see them?" Lord Círdan asked unbelievingly. He had never heard of such skill.

Heledhon nodded. "We followed the trail where it left the clearing, and then noticed that it circled back half an hour later. We then lost it completely amongst our own tracks. These Watchers are too skilled for us. I apologize, my lord, for not being able to find any other clue. We could not continue to look, even if we had wanted to. Belegon was getting worried, and it was getting dark."

"No apologies are necessary young one. You did your best." Lord Celeborn said.

The two captains nodded, still slightly upset. They were not used to being bested in such a way. It would not be easy for them to forget this little bruise on their prides.

"Thank you, Captains. That will be all." the king said.

The two captains bowed and turned toward the door. As they were about to leave, Celeborn called, "Captain Belegon, one question."

The elf turned to him with a curious expression.

"How do you plan to get the dye out?"

Belegon winced slightly. "I think I will start with a weaver friend of mine, then my mother if need be. She still seems to know everything and may have some ideas."

"Why not ask Lieutenant Idhrenor?" the lady asked.

Belegon's expression darkened. "I did. He was less than forthcoming. I then ordered him, and he refused."

"Belegon then threatened to leave Idhrenor in the city the next time we set out and make him tend armor for the next five years. He was not the least bit afraid. He knows he is my lieutenant and only I can order him to do such things." Heledhon piped up from the door.

"Why don't you punish him?" Belegon asked.

"Because you deserved this, _mellon nín_. If you had not gotten me into a bad mood, your hair would the color that elven maids cannot help but swoon over." Heledhon said bluntly.

Belegon growled, but the king cut in. "Thank you, Captains. The best of luck to you Belegon with your hair. Best of luck to you, Heledhon, with Lady Faneth. You may go."

Heledhon blushed, and Belegon smiled slightly at his expression. Both elves again bowed, and as they passed through the door Belegon said, "Now all I need to do once my hair is normal is get back at Idhrenor."

"Do not plan that with me around. I want to be able to claim innocence." Heledhon warned, voice fading as they walked away.

Gil-galad turned towards the others with raised eyebrows. "If Idhrenor is seen with bodily harmed caused by Belegon, do you think it will be possible to avoid a conflict of interest by claiming ignorance, since Belegon has just basically threatened to avenge himself against Idhrenor in our hearing?"

The others looked perplexed. "I think we need to think on that one, Ereinion." Círdan said.

Gil-galad smiled and nodded. The smile soon faded though as he thought about what the Captain's had said. He sighed.

"So now what do we do? I do not understand the behavior of the two horses or their riders. How do we send the message they will not be harmed when, or if, they come here? I almost feel like a chicken walking around with no head. These Watchers are playing us in some way."

Everyone was silent and pensive, then Celeborn broke the silence. "Perhaps your appearing and meeting their horses is all that was needed to be done. Maybe they have decided that since you and the patrol could be trusted not to harm their horses, then it could be possible that they will not be harmed by meeting us and that it is okay to come out of the shadows."

The Shipwright nodded. "Most likely, all will be decided soon."

Lady Galadriel broke in just then, sensing now was the best time to say what she needed to say. "I agree, Mariner. And now I have an announcement to make."

Lord Celeborn looked confused, as did the Shipwright. Gil-galad smiled, guessing what was going to come next.

Galadriel took in a deep breath, then said quietly, "I am going to have a child."

Celeborn looked shocked, and if it were not for the fact he wasn't already he seated, he may have collapsed. He then looked extremely pleased. He smiled widely and went to give her a hug and kiss.

Círdan and Gil-galad also came to give their congratulations.

The rest of the day may be able to pass a bit more easily now without the tension between the Lord and the Lady.

* * *

><p>The shadow moved away, silently fuming. 'So Eärendil's brats may return after all. I bet they will not stay for long.' He thought with a cruel smile, as sunlight streamed in from a nearby window.<p>

* * *

><p>Miles away, two hooded and cloaked beings settled into their new campsite a quarter mile away from a cliff. This place was out of the way, protected, and there was a source of water nearby. They would not stay for long. The sore was almost gone; now only a two inch by two inch mark that just needed fresh skin and hair to grow. When that was done they would make for the city. They could no longer be afraid of the unknown.<p>

They had spent a good part of their lives being afraid, even when they knew they were safe. They no longer wanted to feel that fear. It was time to face what they feared most: any of their elven kin that remained and their people.

As soon as the horses could be ridden they would go. Once their mind's were made up, nothing could convince them of a different path.

The mare's sore should be gone completely in two weeks time, and then they would go to the city near the sea.

* * *

><p>Translations:<br>Vedui' - Greetings  
>Mae govannen, mellon iaur – Well met, old friend<br>Meleth – love  
>Minno – enter<br>Hir nín – my lord  
>Mellon nín – my friend<p> 


	8. Chapter 8: Arrival of the Watchers

A/N: I apologize for taking so long to post a new chapter. My process involves writing the chapter down on paper, then typing it up and adding tidbits where I see fit. I finished this chapter on Wednesday, but I got my wisdom teeth out on Thursday. I started typing it Thursday evening after a three-hour nap, and finished it Friday. It usually doesn't take so long, but my mouth is killing me right now. On the bright side, winter break has started, which will most likely result in more chapters being written, typed and posted soon.

Thank you to all who have reviewed! And now...here is the moment you have all been waiting for!

* * *

><p>Two weeks had passed since Heledhon's patrol had returned to Lindon, and those two weeks had not gone by smoothly for Heledhon.<p>

First and foremost, Belegon's hair was no longer green. His weaver friend had been clueless, but his mother had known how to get the dye out and had done so quickly, chiding him the whole while on his inability to understand what Heledhon was going through. Belegon had then apologized to Heledhon and that had been a good thing. It had reconciled their friendship, and they were again as close to each other as brothers were.

What happened next was not so good.

Belegon had not forgiven Idhrenor for his, in Belegon's mind, gross transgression. The fact that Heledhon hadn't punished him and refused to do so, made it worse. And so the war began.

The first thing Belegon had done was paint flowers on Idhrenor's weapons, so that they looked completely ridiculous when he pulled them out during training. Some new recruits were there as well, so it made Idhrenor more than a little furious. He had promptly sworn revenge.

Idhrenor wasn't a prankster for nothing. He was very effective in his pranks. One extended prank was enough. His prank consisted of taking Belegon's bow and replacing the string with a string that was about to break, and promptly did, which caused a bit of a whiplash for Belegon when it hit him in the face and on his hands. He then put glue in the sheath of Belegon's practice sword, glued the cinch of Belegon's saddle in place so he couldn't even put it on his horse, and told Captain Heledhon who Belegon was interested in in terms of his social life. Heledhon couldn't have cared less, but the fact that he knew was something that bothered Belegon. Unfortunately for Belegon, he couldn't think of way to avenge himself, and he wasn't allowed to try and find a way because Heledhon had had enough. He ordered a truce.

If they didn't reconcile, Heledhon had threatened to go to the king if necessary. That was a very effective threat, and it worked wonders. Within a day, it was like nothing had happened and they were the best of friends.

Something else that happened on a positive note was that Heledhon had finally spoken with Faneth during a feast to celebrate the summer solstice three days prior. It wasn't as awkward as they both thought it would be, and they had even danced together. By the time the evening was over, both of them were closer than they had ever been and were talking about meeting in the gardens to be able to speak more privately about the future. They would most likely be chaperoned by a friend or family member, but neither cared. As long as their chaperone only made their presence known if it became necessary, they didn't care.

That made Heledhon very happy, but his dour mood was slowly returning when he learned what had to be done for the day. The task for today was inventorying their supply of weapons. It was tedious and would take all day. In other words, it was something no one ever wanted to do. The other captains, Heledhon, and Belegon had drawn sticks, and Heledhon's had been the shortest one. This meant that Heledhon and some of his patrol would be in the armory all day. Belegon had taken pity on his friend, and volunteered to help.

Heledhon, Idhrenor, Belegon, and a few others were making their way over to the armory, talking quietly about anything other than the inventory. The other warriors were openly grinning a their misfortune, while the captains not doing the inventory were looking extremely relieved.

Just as the six of them were about to disappear into the armory, a horn sounded from the top of the wall. Two short blasts, and Heledhon and the others were at the top of the wall in the blink of an eye. Others were right behind them. What they saw stole their breath away.

Racing across the two league wide meadow at full tilt, a warg close on its heels, was a horse. Heledhon gasped. The guard that had blown the horn glanced his way. "That is one of the Watchers horses. Get the king or Lord Círdan, whoever is closer." He could sense, more than see, Belegon nod. The guard, as well as everyone else that had never seen the Watchers horses, gaped openly at him. They then forced their eyes back to the meadow.

The horse had covered half a league, and was close enough to be able to see the saddle and bridle she had on. That was all anyone had time to notice, since the warg launched itself at the mare. The mare sensed him, though, and put on a burst of speed. It was enough to make sure the warg didn't land square on her back, but not enough to prevent injury. The warg's front paws and claws dug into her haunches and rump, leaving long deep cuts there before it fell back to the ground. The mare kicked out with her back legs, and hit the warg in the face.

The kick infuriated the warg, who launched itself at the mare's side, knocking her to the ground on her side. The warg then made to go in for the kill.

* * *

><p>Those on the wall were frozen as they watched. They could not have helped the mare even if they tried. The horse and warg were out of range. It seemed that this would be the death of the silvery dappled mare.<p>

* * *

><p>Just as the warg was about to go in for killing bite, there was a rustling in the underbrush, and another horse burst from the trees. This horse had a saddle and bridle, and a rider. All on the wall drew in a breath of surprise at the sight of the cloaked being. Their was hood was up to cover their face, though.<p>

The horse and rider made a beeline for the warg, who was so intent on the downed mare that he didn't notice the rider reach for and unsheathe his sword. It did notice when the rider slashed it's side and it leaped backwards. The rider and horse got between the warg and the downed mare, who promptly got to her feet and raced toward the palace. The rider sheathed his sword and followed.

Not more than ten seconds later, more wargs with orc-riders crashed out of the trees and raced after the two horses.

The race to the city was on.

* * *

><p>Heledhon, Belegon, and all those on the wall were shocked to say the least. To finally catch a glimpse of one of the Watchers was more than they expected.<p>

* * *

><p>Now that the horses weren't restricted by the close confines of the forest, they were both sprinting across the meadow. They had almost out-distanced the wargs, who were falling behind.<p>

There was only a league of meadow left. Seeing this, the Watcher urged his mare on. He knew he would be in range of the archers soon, who could shoot the wargs.

* * *

><p>Laeron and some other archers were on the wall quickly, bows at the ready and arrows notched.<p>

The second the wargs were in range, the arrows were loosed. All the orcs and wargs fell to the arrows that rained down.

The horses were half a league away.

Now that they were closer, Heledhon could see that the reason the one horse was riderless because the second rider was on the uninjured horse. The rider was, by the looks of it, completely limp and unresponsive. His hood was up as well, ad his head rested against the right shoulder of his companion. His face could not be seen, just like his friend.

Seeing this, Heledhon called below, "Get healers!"

Several warriors dashed off. At the same moment, Thawon approached from the palace. He had been attracted by the horn call and was curious about what was going on.

Heledhon and Belegon made it to the ground just as the gates were opened and the injured mare dashed in. Up close, Heledhon could see it was Rhawel. She swerved to the left in their direction, while the other mare went straight, going in a circle to slow herself down enough to walk and try and catch her breath.

Rhawel skidded to a stop, reared and pawed the air with both hooves. She was whinnying panickly, and was lashing out with her front hooves at elves trying to grab the reins dangling from her bridle. It was obvious she was deeply frightened and going into shock from the injured to her rump.

Nestor, who happened to be nearby, tried to calm her, but all he got was a near miss as she lashed out at him. Heledhon then tried, but with same result. She missed his head with her front hoof by maybe six inches. Before he could try again, the second horse and her riders made their way over at a trot. Heledhon noticed that Faerveren was lathered and sweaty, a sign that the race to the city against the wargs had been long and hard. She was also panting heavily, as was Rhawel.

The rider reached for Rhawel, gently touching her neck with a trembling hand, at the same time saying, "Sîdh, Veryafion."

The injured mare's head whipped around in surprise at the unexpected contact, but when she saw how close her sister was, she immediately went to her and touched noses. She let out a very heavy sigh.

The one rider slouched forward slightly in exhaustion. His companion moved where he did, confirming he was unconscious.

Now that both horses were quiet and still, it was easy to see their saddle-cloths, which bore the symbol of the House of Fean̈or: an eight-rayed silver star.

* * *

><p>Thawon's eyes narrowed at the sight of the saddle-cloth and the rider's tunics, which bore the star as well. He was not happy to see the star, and decided to try his luck at getting rid of them. He was not aware that Lord Círdan was on his way to the gate, but would not arrive for another fifteen minutes or so. The king and the Lord and Lady were deep in council, and it was difficult to interrupt them. They would not be able to get to the gate in time, anyhow.<p>

* * *

><p>The rider had finally caught his breath, more or less, and said quietly, "That was too close, wasn't it Gwaereneth?"<p>

The mare seemed to understand, and nodded her head tiredly. The rider then looked around, and found Heledhon. "_Hannon lle_, for allowing us entrance to Lindon."

Heledhon opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Thawon. "I do not see why you should be allowed to stay, Kinslayer." He fairly spat out.

"Thawon, enough." Heledhon snapped, in a tone of voice that left no room for arguing. He then turned to the rider, and asked quietly, "Could you lower your hood? I think it may put everyone more at ease."

The figure seemed to consider the question, but in the end nodded and lowered his hood.

Long, flowing black hair, piercing silver eyes that showed a brightly burning inner fire as well as bone-deep exhaustion, and a complexion darker than most elves was revealed. His face was more beautiful than expected, and slightly exotic in some way, and his pointed ears showed that above all else, this was an elf and not some spirit or something of the like, like a few warriors thought the Watchers were.

The Watcher turned to Thawon, and seemed to pierce him with his glare. "We are not Kinslayers."

Thawon's eyes narrowed. "Your tunics and saddle-cloths say differently."

The rider also narrowed his eyes, and the glare became even more intense. "My brother and I are no more Kinslayers than you are. We were raised in Himring, that is all."

"Raised by Kinslayers is all the same to me as being one. You are not welcome here, and should leave now."

The rider raised his eyebrows. "So you save our lives and expect us to turn around and leave? I know I have never been here before, but I know that you are not the king. I think I will wait for his judgment in this matter."

"His judgment is of no consequence in this matter. You are a Kinslayer and not welcome. Do not stay here." Thawon spat out.

The rider looked upset and angry. He also looked as though he was expecting this, for his next words were more pleading than anything else. "My brother is seriously wounded, as is his horse. I have injuries as well, both our horses are exhausted, and there are orcs waiting in and amongst the trees for us. Would it be acceptable for us to be your prisoners? We would rather be prisoners of elves than of orcs."

Heledhon looked shocked. "We would not have you as prisoners. We will wait for the king to make his decision, and until that time your wounds will be tended, as will your horses. Healers are on their way here right now."

The rider looked surprised, then relieved and grateful. "I am glad. I was going to leave my brother and our horses behind if you tried to force us to leave, to give them a chance. He knows where I would have tried to go."

Belegon was surprised to hear that, and it further proved that the relationship between the riders was like the relationship between their mounts, strong and unbreakable, but before he could comment Thawon snapped, "I still think you should leave, and perhaps the king will think so as well. But maybe you know the answer to a question that many have asked, ever since the last Kinslaying: Do you know the fate of Eärendil's sons, by any chance?"

The rider looked surprised at the question, but before he could say anything, a deep, powerful voice called, "What is going on here?"

* * *

><p>The young elf froze. He recognized the voice, had known it for as long as he could remember. Upon hearing the voice, he settled on the horse and waited. No one would be able to make him leave now.<p>

* * *

><p>The crowd of elves surrounding the two horses parted to let an impressive elf pass through. This elf was silver-haired, and unlike other elves, had a beard. He came forward slowly, eyes on the elf astride the horse. The elf in turn was staring at him as one would stare at water after having survived the desert. The rider then smiled, a slight whimsical smile that a mischievous child would flash before trouble ensued.<p>

Círdan lowered his head for a moment, then raised it. He was smiling, but there were tears in his eyes. "Where have you been, _penneth_?"

The rider smiled grimly. "Himring, for many years. The Feänorians raised us, but we never forgot our roots. Or..." He smiled even more broadly, the grimness leaving his eyes and expression. "the one who taught us how to tie ship knots."

The knot of elves drew in a breath of surprise, but Thawon broke in, "What do you mean? Who are you?" His irritation was showing in his eyes, and appeared to radiate off his frame.

Lord Círdan broke eye contact to look at the councilor. "You are really so blind as to not be able to recognize the sons of Eärendil, even after so many years?"

The gasps that come from the surrounding elves was echoed all over by others in the circle, and all stared as the elf lowered the hood covering his brother's head, to reveal a face identical to his own. This face, however, had scrapes and bruises. The eyes were also closed, revealing that the elf was deeply unconscious.

Círdan frowned, and turned his attention to the other rider, whose energy was depleting before their eyes as his eyes lost focus and he listed to one side. He caught himself, but it was obvious it was an effort for him. At that moment, the healers arrived. They headed straight for the injured riders. The rider lowered his brother down carefully, saying, "His left leg is badly broken, and he has some broken ribs."

Once his brother was safely on the ground, the rider carefully got off. He landed clumsily, trying not to put weight on his right leg. He also winced and hissed slightly as his left arm was forced to bear some of his weight. He was tired, though, and would have fallen to the ground if the horse wasn't there. Lord Círdan, who had made his way over, came and wrapped the rider's right arm around his shoulders. The rider was barely conscious now, but raised his head when grooms approached.

"Do not separate them, no matter what. Put them in the same stall. It is the only way to keep Veryafion calm while you tend the cuts." He rasped quietly.

The grooms nodded, and the head groom asked, "So their names are Veryafion and...?" The horses were being led away by now, in the direction of the stables were the grooms could tend them and get them settled quickly in a stall. They refused to leave each other, and were walking side by side.

"Gwaereneth." the young elf replied as he sagged against the Shipwright. His eyes rolled back into his head and he lost consciousness, held upright only by the Shipwright, who gently lowered him to the ground to allow the healers more access.

The young elves were placed on stretchers, and the healers headed straight for the palace. Círdan went as well, after asking Idhrenor to find the king, Celeborn, and Galadriel and send them to the healing wing in the palace, but not say why. The Shipwright would explain everything when they arrived. He also asked Heledhon and Belegon to be on standby to talk to the twins. "I would like you to try and make friends with them. This place will be new and strange to them and they will need friendship to get through the next few months as they try and find their place here."

Heledhon and Belegon had agreed, and had also agreed to be nearby when the twins awoke, whenever that would be.

Círdan finally left, safe in the knowledge that the twins would have a chance to make friends. While the twins were being tended, though, the two captains would need to start and complete the inventory.

Heledhon and Belegon looked at each other, then Belegon sighed in exasperation, "Back to the inventory, then?"

Heledhon nodded, and they both disappeared into the armory.

* * *

><p>The shadow silently fumed as the two elves were taken to the palace. 'So now how do I get them out? With Círdan vouching for them, the king won't be convinced to make them leave. They are his kin, after all.' An evil grin came over his features. 'Maybe I can use that. Not for a while, though. Let them try to gain everyone's trust, first.'<p>

With that thought, the shadow melted back into the shadows, schooled his expression, and went about his duties.

* * *

><p>Translations:<p>

Sîdh – peace  
>Hannon lle – thank you<br>Penneth – young one


	9. Chapter 9: The Healer's Work

The grooms were quick to strip the two mares of their saddles and bridles. The saddlebags were put aside for someone to take up to the palace later.

Once that was done, both horses were given warm baths to cool down and clean the cuts on Veryafion's rump. Aside from her cut rump; both horses were unharmed, but exhausted.

The head groom, Braigon, and Nestor, who had volunteered to help, turned their attention to Veryafion. Both mares were side-by-side in the stall, heads touching.

Nestor went in first. Gwaereneth greeted him tiredly with gentle nickers, then nudged him over to Veryafion. Veryafion stayed still, too tired and in shock to move. She was shivering from the shock and was as close to her sister as possible.

Nestor quietly stroked Veryafion, making his way slowly and carefully over her body to her rump and haunches. He then turned to Braigon, "Come in quietly. Introduce yourself before making your way to me."

Braigon nodded and did as Nestor suggested. Veryafion stood quietly and allowed Braigon to come over. She gently lipped his outstretched hand and then shook her head tiredly, eyes closing slightly as she dozed.

Braigon took that as a sign of acceptance and ran a hand gently along her side as he went to her rump. Once there, he couldn't quite hold in the gasp of dismay when he saw the wounds. He had seen them before, but they somehow looked worse when cleaned and free of blood and dirt. There were eight deep cuts that went from where her rump and haunches began to where her back legs met together near her tail. All in all, the injuries were painful, but thankfully had been cleaned quickly enough to avoid infection.

It took some time, a lot of suture materials, some apples, and a mild sleeping draught to tend the wounds. Blankets were then placed over both horses and a warm gruel was prepared. They were also given warm water to prevent their insides from cramping.

Once both horses were done eating (it should be noted that they didn't steal from each other, and only ate their own portion), they both lay down as close to each other as possible and slept. Their heads they laid next to each other as sleep came over them.

Braigon's eyebrows came up at the sight. "I have never seen anything like this before." He said quietly to Nestor.

Nestor nodded. "I do not think anyone has. We should keep them together as they acclimate."

Braigon nodded, and then turned his attention to Ólerydeth, who had come to retrieve the saddlebags.

Just as she was about to pick one up, another moved. Ólerydeth froze, and then glanced over at the other elves. They looked just as shocked as she did, then Braigon came over.

He opened the saddlebag, looked in, and his mouth fell open in surprise. "You have got to be kidding me." was all he could say as Ólerydeth, Nestor, and the others came over and looked in.

Soon everyone was laughing slightly at what was in the saddlebag.

* * *

><p>In the healing wing of the palace, Faneth was helping tend the twin with the broken leg. He was deeply unconscious, and closer inspection revealed why. Both his pupils were dilated, a sure sign he had been drugged.<p>

Faneth raised her eyebrows. "These two are definitely good enough healers to know how to drug one another. I wonder what else they will surprise us with." she said quietly to another master healer.

She then turned his attention to the broken leg.

The leggings that covered his leg was covered in bloody patches; and the rest of him was covered in dirt, mud, blood, and orc-blood in a few places. There was also mud and blood in his hair and broken twigs as well. The bloody patches were covered with what looked like a torn shirt.

Underneath the patches of blood was broken skin where the bone had pushed through. The leg itself, though, was already set and splinted. The splints were extremely improvised, because they looked like arrows. They were missing arrowheads, but still had feather fletchings.

Faneth sighed. "At least the most painful part has already been dealt with. Why don't you get them cleaned up while I get the herbs, splints, and bandages we will need."

The others nodded, and Faneth and the other she-elves left. When they came back a half hour later, both young elves were cleaned of mud, gore, and blood.

Faneth again went to the drugged twin. She set a splint and bound his leg; and turned his attention to his chest, since his brother had said there were some broken ribs.

Deep bruising covered most of his chest and back, and there were several broken ribs on both sides. Faneth winced, thinking, 'What happened to him? How in the world did he manage this?' while she carefully set and bound his broken ribs. The thought was echoed by a junior healer, "What happened to them? They look as though a house collapsed on them and then they were caught in a rock slide."

"I think we will need to wait for them to wake to hear the whole story." Faneth said. "Let us see how the other twin is doing."

They left the drugged elf to some apprentices to finish dressing and get him comfortable in one of the beds. His brother appeared to be slightly better.

He only had a broken right ankle, some sprained ribs, and an infected sword wound in his upper left arm. He had a fingerless glove on his right hand as well, but even in his unconscious state he tried to lash out when someone touched it. "Leave it be for now," Faneth ordered. "It apparently is causing him some unnecessary pain, and I do not wish for him to wake until all his injuries have been tended."

All nodded and left the hand alone, since no one was able to get the pained expression on the young elf's face when someone touched the hand out of their minds.

Another master healer was tending him. He glanced Faneth's way as she approached. "The wound was cleaned fairly well, but an infection still set in. It does not look like it will take much to drain the infection. The broken ankle was already set. I put a better splint on it. He could walk if the need aroused, even though I advise against it."

Faneth nodded, then asked thoughtfully, "Do you know which twin is which, by any chance? I know their names are Elrond and Elros, but I cannot tell them apart."

The other healer looked surprised, and looked down at the twin he was tending, and then over at the other one. "I do not know how anyone could tell them apart, I am afraid. We had best wait for Lord Círdan. He recognized them immediately; he may be able to tell them apart."

Faneth nodded; and both healers turned their attention back to the twin, draining the infection and binding the wound. They then gave him something for pain and to help him rest after ascertaining that he did not have a head injury. His collapse earlier was most likely because of exhaustion.

* * *

><p>Gil-galad, Galadriel, and Celeborn had quickly made their way to the healing wing, where they were met by a slightly anxious Círdan. Not even a closed meeting lasted for long when there was a chance to see if a rumor was true and see if two young elves long thought dead were in the city. The lady had had to go slower than she was used to, because at three months her stomach was getting bigger and slowing her down slightly. She and Lord Celeborn though were extremely excited and eagerly awaiting the birth, as was Gil-galad and Círdan.<p>

"Is it true, _mellon nín_? Is it really Eärendil's sons?" Celeborn asked breathlessly. Galadriel was right behind him, looking more than a little winded, but recovering well. There was a reason why she was thought to be one of the strongest she-elves in Middle Earth. Not much could faze her, and her endurance was almost unequaled.

Círdan looked surprised. "I asked Idhrenor not to say anything. How did you...?"

"I ordered Idhrenor to tell us." Gil-galad said by way of explanation. "He looked as an elfling with his hand in a cookie jar, and definitely could not lie to us or withhold a secret like this. I do not think using him as a messenger in this type of situation is wise."

Círdan laughed quietly, and then smiled slightly. "Yes, they are Eärendil's sons. They are both mildly hurt and unconscious, though."

Gil-galad's eyes widened, and he gazed at the closed doors of the healing wing, which chose to open at that moment. Faneth came through the doors. She smiled slightly at them and said, "Worry not, they will both be fine. They are resting now."

They all relaxed at those words and Galadriel asked, "May we see them?"

Faneth nodded and led them through the doors. The lords and the lady followed Faneth. Both twins were lying in beds and sleeping peacefully.

Gil-galad started in surprise at the sight of the twins. 'They really are identical, right down to how they sleep and look. If not for the injuries, I doubt any could tell them apart.' He thought before turning his attention back to Faneth who was outlining the twin's condition.

"...will be fine in time. The leg is badly broken. In some places the bone came up through the skin."

All winced in sympathy. Faneth nodded sympathetically and continued, "He has some broken ribs and has deep bruises on his chest and back. As one of the other healers put it, he looks as though a house fell on him."

Círdan looked dismayed, but asked, "And Elros?"

All looked, surprised, at the Shipwright. "You can tell them apart?" Celeborn asked.

"I have always been able to tell them apart, ever since I first met them." Círdan said by way of explanation.

All were silent for a few moments, then Faneth cleared her throat slightly. "Elros will also be fine. His right ankle is broken, and he had an infected sword wound on his left arm and some sprained ribs. Another thing, though, that puzzles me is that he wears a fingerless glove on his right hand."

Círdan frowned. "I can think of no reason why. As far as I know he never injured that hand seriously."

"We tried to remove it, but he kept pulling away. There is something about that hand he wants to protect, and even in his unconscious state he sensed when it was touched and did not react well. Whatever happened must not have been pleasant." Faneth said. "We had not drugged him at this time, and I did not want him waking until we checked the full extent of his injuries. We decided to leave it alone for now. You should definitely ask him about it when he wakes."

Círdan nodded. "There are many things we would like to ask them, but we will make sure to include that as well. The fact it bothers him so, even when unconscious, says it was not a good experience."

Gil-galad finally spoke, "Is there any harm, my lady, in moving them to some private chambers in the northeast wing of the palace? They may not react well when they wake; it may be a good idea to get them used to their new quarters before they get used to the healing wing. No offense to you or the other healers, Lady Faneth, but all young elves seem to want to avoid the healing wing as much as possible." He was quick to add.

"Not just young elves. I seem to recall you trying to sneak away as well a few times, Ereinion." Galadriel said with a slight smile. Gil-galad blushed slightly but decided not to comment.

Faneth mulled over the idea during this exchange. "I believe they are both stable, so I do not see the harm in moving them. Which rooms did you have in mind, _hir nín_?"

"Perhaps the two rooms next to each other that both have balconies and look almost the same?" Lady Galadriel suggested.

Gil-galad nodded. "That is not a bad idea, my lady. And they are close to my chambers, if they need me. Will that be suitable with you, Lady Faneth?"

Faneth smiled and nodded. "Yes, it will be. We will move them in about an hour. I want to make sure there are no complications before we attempt a move. Elrond was either crushed or fell from a great height; there may be internal bleeding. I want to make sure there is none before we attempt to move him from a place where we have everything we need to place where it is a long run to the healing wing."

The lords and lady nodded in acceptance and turned to leave. Círdan lingered for a moment, hesitant to leave the twins.

"They will not wake for hours, my lord. They are not going anywhere, except to their new quarters in an hour. Come back then." Faneth said quietly.

Círdan nodded. "Thank you for your words young one. You can not deny an old elf who has seen too much death the joy of seeing those two alive again."

Faneth also nodded and smiled slightly. "I know, my lord, but that does not change the fact they will not wake for hours. From the looks of things Elros drugged Elrond and then we drugged Elros to help him rest. It will be a long while before they wake."

Círdan sighed and turned to leave. He stopped though, and the look of annoyance on Faneth's face disappeared when the Shipwright said, "I forgot to ask how things are going with Captain Heledhon. Is everything in order for you two?"

Heledhon had asked Faneth for her hand a few days before in a part of the gardens that they both loved. She was surprised, but had immediately said yes. Now her mother and sisters were getting her dress together; his mother, Belegon and his family, and Heledhon's other family members were taking care of everything else, and no one had any idea what their respected father's were thinking. The fact they both gone to see the king at the exact same time just couldn't be a good thing. Aside from that, everyone was extremely excited and couldn't wait. Normally an elven engagement lasted a year, but both families were anxious to get them married. The fact they acted like love-sick puppies until her father said yes to the engagement and a quick marriage showed that even he was starting to wear under his daughter's begging. The fact he would do anything she asked helped a bit as well.

Faneth blushed. "Yes, everything is almost ready. I wish I knew what my father was up to, though. He is being very secretive. Not even my mother knows."

"I am sure he will reveal to you what he is up to when the time is right. Please let us know when the wedding will be? The king, myself, and the lord and lady would like to attend."

"I will make sure to do so as soon as possible my lord. I will let you know if there is anything to worry about concerning the twins."

Círdan took the hint, smiled, and left to return to his duties. Duties and responsibilities couldn't be haphazardly thrown aside when he wanted to, not while he was a lord. If he was someone else, maybe. But he was a lord and his people expected him to help lead and help the king in any way possible. He would be back though. Not even a direct order from Eru Ilúvatar could keep him from the twin's sides for long. Not after thinking them gone from him forever for so long.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, the twins were moved to separate chambers next to each other on the third floor in the northeast corner of the palace. They did not stir once during the move, and slept as deeply as before, the only sign they still lived was the slight rise and fall of their chests as they drew breath.<p>

Three hours later, Círdan came by to find their conditions unchanged. He stayed for an hour at each twins side before leaving to rest and regain his strength. He knew the twins, and knew them to be stubborn. They would wake when _they_ wanted to, not when _someone else_ wanted them to.

When night finally fell, the healers that had been sitting next to their beds for hours left to go home for the evening. They were replaced by guards at the doors. The guards were instructed to listen for any sound of them waking; and if one did, inform the king, who was working late as was his wont, or one of the healers as quickly as possible.

The guards were attentive, but not even elven hearing can detect the sound of eyelashes fluttering and silver eyes finally opening after hours of drug-enforced slumber.

* * *

><p>Translations:<p>

Mellon nín – my friend  
>Hir nín – my lord<p> 


	10. Chapter 10: Waking and Searching

A/N: This won't be the big reveal chapter that explains everything, that will be the next one. The moving saddlebag will be explained then as well. I think you all will get a kick out of it. In case you haven't noticed, I have no idea how long this story will be. It will end when it will end, and I have no idea how long it will be until this finished. I am doing a gazillion things at once, including college applications and Silver Knight.

Reviews are asked for, accepted and appreciated. Keep them coming, please!

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><p>The young elf lay completely still, breath slow and even. The only sign he was awake was the careful, silent movement of his head as his eyes explored the room he was in.<p>

The room was large, complete with a large closet, wash room, and separate sitting room. There was also a bookshelf in the bedchamber. From his vantage point on the bed, Elros could see a few couches and chairs, and a fireplace. He also could see the legs of a table or desk in the sitting room. Outside, he could sense the presence of someone, most likely a guard. He slowly, quietly, raised himself up on his right arm. The left was a little sore, but was no longer causing as much pain as before. His ankle no longer felt as though it was on fire as well.

At first he was confused, not remembering how he came to be here, or where _here _was, but slowly his memories returned. The attack, the wargs, the race to Lindon, seeing his uncle after so long, and then nothing. 'I must have collapsed from exhaustion after that,' He reasoned with himself. A moment later, panic set in, 'Where is Elrond?' he thought while scanning the room quickly.

Instead of setting out in blind panic in search of his brother, Elros' training came into play, at least the part that helped him stay calm and center himself. The staying still part of his training had never really sunk in. He could stay still, but there was always a part of him that was moving. His brother was definitely the calmer of the two of them, and could completely freeze if the situation called for it. Elros had never had the ability to become that calm.

After a few moments, his heart had stopped racing and his breathing was again slow and even. Elros then centered himself, and looked deep inside himself for the bond he could sense with his brother. Elros relaxed even more when he felt how strong and steady the bond was.

'Elrond's injuries must not have included internal injuries. I hoped as much; but the circumstances, not to mention our luck, dictated they would be more serious. I am glad that is not the case.' Elros thought before reaching out through the bond to sense _where_ is brother was in proximity to him.

After a few moments, he relaxed. His brother was in the room next to him. 'Now how do I get there without the guard outside noticing?' he asked himself silently. Looking around the room, he noticed that the doors to the balcony were open, most likely to let the pleasant night air in. After considering his options, which were few, and the desire to be with his brother becoming overwhelming, Elros decided to attempt walking.

He quietly slid out from under the blankets and sheets, careful not to rustle either. Experience taught him that attempting to move the sheets away usually caused someone to immediately notice. As it was Elros had to be careful that the guard didn't notice what he was about to attempt. After several tense and anxious minutes, he was out from under the sheets, and both his feet were resting on the floor.

Elros carefully stood, all his weight on his good leg. Looking around, he saw that there was a bedside table next to the bed. He used that for support to hobble to the wall. The splint on his ankle was one that allowed for walking, since it was sturdy enough, but Elros knew that walking on a bad ankle was generally a bad idea. He would have to be very careful to avoid injuring it further.

Leaning against the wall, he carefully made his way out onto the balcony. Once out on the balcony, he used the railing for support to look around outside.

To the left was empty air, and a corner. Elros could tell that there was most likely another balcony or something of the like around the corner. To the right, a good ten or fifteen feet away was another balcony. Elros could sense his brother was in the room attached to the balcony and looked around to try and find a way to get there. Between his balcony and his brothers' was a creeper vine. The vine went all the way up the side of the palace, and Elros' eyes seemed to light up as an idea came to him at the sight of the vine.

Carefully and silently, he swung both legs over the balcony railing (he was as close to the vine as possible), and grabbed the vine. Being mindful of his broken ankle, he climbed slowly across the vine to his brother's room; all the while thanking his Sinda blood since it prevented him from falling twice and helped him know exactly where to place his hands and feet during the dangerous climb.

Once safely on his brother's balcony, he took a deep breath and winced as his ankle complained. It seemed his ankle _did not_ appreciate the exercise and activity it had been forced to do to get to the other side of the vine. His right hand was hurting a bit as well, he discovered a moment later.

Nonetheless, he was willing to ignore the pain he was in to make sure his brother was alright. Knowing through their bond wasn't enough. He had to physically see him. Only then would he allow himself to relax and rest again. Already, tiredness was creeping up on him, a sign that he had overworked himself just then.

After getting the pain he was in under control and down to bearable levels, Elros used the wall to hobble into his brother's room. Once inside, he couldn't help but notice that his brother's room was similar to his, the only difference being the color scheme. His brother was lying in the bed to his left, and was still deeply unconscious. Elros had known as much, since he was the one who had drugged him and knew what the dosage of the herb had been.

Next to his brother's bed was a chair, like there was in his room. Elros gratefully sat down in the chair and caught his breath. Then he reached out to check on his brother. His brother's pulse was steady, and his breathing was even. Further investigation revealed that his ribs and leg had been splinted and bound.

Everything else appeared to be in order. Since there was no healer present and his brother wasn't in the healing wing, it was obvious to Elros that there were no internal injuries and Elrond would be fine in time.

With that thought, and a slight smile on his lips for what they had been able to accomplish, Elros dozed off in the chair, his brother's hand in his as he relaxed in the knowledge that he and his brother were finally safe and no longer had to live in fear.

* * *

><p>The morning after the twins arrival was slightly cloudy, and the faint smell of rain was in the air. It was going to storm soon, Círdan could feel it in his bones as he made his way to the twins rooms after breaking his fast and arranging for food to be brought there.<p>

'I hope there have been no problems, since the guards have not summoned anyone to their rooms.' He thought as he climbed the stairs nearest to the northeast corner.

Along the way, he was joined by the king, and the Lord and the Lady. They were in discussion with Thawon, Lord Daeron, Captains Belegon and Heledhon, and the Lady Faneth.

"How was your night, _mellon nín_?" the king inquired softly. His had been restless, thinking about the twins and how they were passing the night. He had even wanted to check on them, but decided against it. He didn't want them to be frightened by the sight of someone they didn't know when they first woke in a strange new place.

"It was my first truly restful night in a while." the Shipwright admitted with a soft smile. All there could tell he was thinking about the twins. A few moments later, though, he was frowning. "The continued silence from the guards has me worried. You said, Lady Faneth, that at the very least Elros would be awake by now."

"Yes, but it could be that he was more exhausted then we believed and needed more rest. The herbs we gave him were to help him rest and sleep, not keep him sleeping. His body would decide when he has had enough sleep." Faneth said from where she was next to Heledhon. Their wedding was going to be in a few months time, per both their fathers requests. They had agreed, but that didn't stop them from spending as much time as possible together.

Círdan nodded and said, "Nevertheless, I would like to get there and see what is happening."

By this time, the group had arrived at Elros' room. The guard at the door seemed to stand up straighter as they stopped near him.

"Have you heard anything from inside?" the king asked.

"No sire, I have not heard a thing." the guard replied.

Gil-galad said, "_Hannon lle_, you may go."

The guard bowed and left to rest and get something to eat.

The group quietly entered and made their way quickly to the bedchamber. Once there, they all stopped and stared in shock at the empty bed. The only sign that said the bed had been used at one point was the slightly rumpled sheets and blankets.

Lord Celeborn spoke first, "Where is he? The guard said he heard nothing."

"Maybe he is in another part of the room?" The Lady suggested.

A quick, but thorough, search revealed that this wasn't the case. Everyone then turned to Lord Círdan, who hadn't moved at all since seeing the empty bed. A closer look revealed that he was deep in thought. Before anyone could ask what he was thinking, his eyes snapped back into focus and he turned his attention back to them.

Then he did something that surprised them, since they were expecting him to be upset. He smiled, then quietly laughed.

"And what, may I ask, is so funny?" the king asked sourly, still rubbing his shoulder where a large book from the bookshelf had landed when he accidentally bumped it. The bruise would look fantastic later.

All Círdan did was shake his head and say, "I know where he is," and then left the room without another word.

Everyone else glanced at each other, completely confused, and then hurried to follow the Mariner. They caught up to him just as he was about to go into Elrond's room. Once inside, the king said, "I do not understand, _mellon nín_." the sentiment was quietly echoed by everyone else.

"Whenever one twin was hurt, which wasn't often, they became even more inseparable. I figured with Elrond as hurt as he is, Elros will want to be near him to be able to assure himself all is well." Círdan explained.

The others nodded, and Círdan quietly opened the bedchamber door and stepped inside. The others followed. Once inside, they were greeted by a heartwarming sight. Elros was there, in the chair beside his brother's bed, and was hugging the Shipwright as tightly as possible. His eyes were closed and tears were leaking out. Círdan, in turn, was returning the hug and was close to tears as well.

"I missed you, Uncle." Elros said quietly.

"I missed you as well, young one. More than you can imagine. It does my old heart good to see you again." the Shipwright said.

Pulling out of the hug, Círdan wiped the tears off Elros' cheeks and said, "There are some people who would like to meet you. They, and I, have many questions we were hoping you could answer. Are you ready?" He nodded in the direction of the door. Elros looked, and seeing who was at the door, seemed frightened for a moment. Then he smiled and nodded, showing he wasn't afraid anymore. He moved onto the bed next to his brother, who was still asleep, and made himself comfortable. Everyone else trooped in and made themselves comfortable in chairs that were in the room, ready to listen to the tale that was about to be told.

* * *

><p>Translations:<p>

Mellon nín – my friend  
>Hannon lle – thank you<p> 


	11. Chapter 11: Explaining the Past

A/N: I am making up most of this to suit my own needs, since nothing was mentioned of what age the twins were when they left Himring or where they went or how long it was before they made it to Lindon. Any facts are as accurate as possible. I am using LOTR wiki religiously to make sure I get everything as true to form as possible. Oh...I am going with the idea that athelas was in use before the Numenoreans brought it to Middle-Earth, since Tolkien did mention it in the Silmarillion. I made sure to check this fact before I inserted it into the story. Thank you to all who have read and reviewed! Please let me know if you see any typos or something doesn't seem right. I aim to please! Enjoy!

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><p>Once everyone was settled and introductions were made, Elros asked, "What do you want to know?"<p>

"I think the one question we will start with first is when did you leave Himring?" Gil-galad asked.

Elros furrowed his brow in thought. "It has been three years, I believe."

"Where have you been during those years?" Lord Daeron asked.

"Here, there, and everywhere. When we basically escaped from Himring we were not really sure where to go, so we decided to go wherever the road led us. Himring was so closed off from the rest of the world that we decided to try and meet the other races on our way here. We knew so little about them and were curious. And we did meet them. We first met what remained of our human kin and learned what we could from them. We then had quite the experience when we first came upon Durin's folk." Elros said with a slight grimace in his eyes and lips as he thought back to the that time.

"What happened?" Círdan asked.

"We were exploring the mountains near Gundabad when we heard the sounds of a fight nearby. We came upon the fight a few minutes later. It was Dwarves against Orcs and we decided to join the fight. The dwarves were outnumbered and it seemed like the right thing to do. We joined the fight and soon the orcs were almost defeated. That's when things became difficult," Elros broke off.

"If you do not want to continue you do not have to," Galadriel said softly.

Elros seemed to focus back on the story, for he continued as though he had never stopped, "One young dwarf was cut off from his companions by the orcs, but close to us, and the orcs were getting ready to kill him when Elrond stepped in. He took an arrow in the leg and the shoulder to defend that dwarf. I dislocated a shoulder and broke some ribs from one of the orc-clubs and took an arrow in the other shoulder."

"Why would you risk your lives in such a way?" Gil-galad asked, shocked at how the story was playing out.

Elros looked at him and said deadpan, "The young dwarf was Durin's son, out on his first patrol. We did not know this at the time, but it did not matter. Neither of us would have allowed a death if we knew we could save him."

Everyone gasped, and Elros continued, "The dwarves were grateful, and took us back to Gundabad, since both of us had been wounded. They let us stay until our wounds healed and taught us how to read, write, and speak Khuzdul as thanks for saving their prince. They also taught us some of their more secret customs. We have sworn not to say anything in that regard so please do not ask. We would violate their trust if we did such a thing. Durin named us dwarf-friends for saving his son and said we were welcome into his halls whenever we were in the area."

"That is a high honor, young one." Celeborn said, praise evident in his voice.

Elros dipped his head and blushed slightly at the compliment.

"The Dwarves taught us a lot about the world we did not know. And they proved Maedhros wrong. He said they would be cruel to us, but they weren't. That was another reason why we left. We wanted to see if everything the Feänorians had taught us was the truth, and what they lied to us about." Elros added. "The Dwarves were kind to us, and allowed us to stay and return whenever we wished. I think they grew to like us and our never-ending curiosity."

The silence that came after this statement was broken by a knock on the door. Two maids came in, each carrying full trays of food. Elros predictably perked up at the sight of food and dove in as Círdan knew he would. The twins had been almost always hungry when they were younger and it was almost nice to see that that hadn't changed. Everyone watched in amazement as he cleared _both _trays.

"When was the last time you ate, _penneth_?" Galadriel asked with a touch of amusement in her voice.

"It has been three days, I think. I was too worried about my brother and everything that was going on to worry about eating." Elros said after finishing his last bite and wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"What of Elrond? Perhaps you should have saved some for him?" Faneth asked.

Elros shook his head, "Elrond will not wake until noon."

"How do you know this?" Thawon asked.

"I do not know how I know. I just know," Elros said by way of explanation. "Our bond allows us to feel things the other feels and understand each other in a way not even we understand."

The look in Elros' eyes said he wouldn't say more on the subject, so the discussion turned to something else, namely the Fëanorians and Himring.

"How and why did you leave? It seems that you were well treated there, considering the fact that you are still alive," Lord Daeron said.

Elros hesitated, "Our reason for leaving was very simple: We had had enough of Maedhros and we wanted to see the world. Maglor was kind enough, but we could never forget what happened to Sirion."

Just then, there was another interruption, this time in the form of Ólerydeth who was delivering the saddlebags. She seemed to be a little frazzled, and Elros smiled gently at her expression.

"Let me guess: Elrond's saddlebag moved, then howled or caterwauled?" Elros said with a small grin.

Ólerydeth's eyes widened in surprise, and everyone looked at Elros as though he had taken complete leave of his senses.

"How did you...?" Ólerydeth started to ask.

In response, Elros extended his hand, and Ólerydeth passed over all the saddlebags.

Elros opened one of them, and out popped a little white head, followed by another. A second later, the first head meowed and looked around. Upon seeing Elrond, the little cat hopped out of the bag and raced across the bed and started nuzzling his hand, meowing and howling quietly all the while.

"He is unconscious, Lavaneth, he can not hear or feel you." Elros said as the other cat played with his hand; chasing, pouncing, and mock-biting it.

Gil-galad, indeed everyone, was shocked and slightly amused, "How in the world did you come to have cats?" he asked.

Elros sighed, "Living in Himring, we did not have many friends. The cook was a friend, and the healer we met after the Sack as we got older, but that was it. Everyone else was suspicious of our mixed blood, and we weren't interested in making friends. We made plenty of friends with animals and the trees." Elros stopped for a minute to get the cats some dried fish out of a different pack and then continued his story.

"On the night we left Himring, everything was going well. The guards were nowhere near the stables and we had everything we needed and wanted. Just as we were about to disappear into the night, one of the barn cats saw us. We could tell she knew what we were doing. Instead of howling, she gave us two of her kittens. We tried to leave them behind, but then she howled and we decided to take them with us. I am glad we did. Taking care of them and making sure they were fed and happy made sure we took care of ourselves while on the road."

"So you took them without hesitation? What about their mother?" Thawon asked, not believing that an elf could actually take two young animals from their mother when they were about to go into the Wilds.

"Their mother was one who we considered a friend; comforting us whenever it was needed when we were young. I think she always understood we didn't belong, but didn't want us to forget her when we left," Elros said quietly. "And we didn't have a choice. Elrond had already taken a huge risk earlier in the night, and we both knew we would be in more than a little trouble if we didn't leave while we had the chance."

"What was this risk?" Círdan asked, dread in his voice.

"He snuck into Maedhros' room and took back our father's blade, Hadhafang, and his knife, that he took as trophies when Sirion fell. Our father left them behind for us whenever he sailed so that we could have something to remember him by."

Everyone seemed to be struck dumb again, then Celeborn asked, "Why would he do that?" already seeming to know the answer to the question he asked.

Elros simply said, "They were our weapons by birthright, and the only remaining link to our father. We have a pendant that Maglor took and gave to us after the Sack that was our mother's, but our father's weapons were something we couldn't leave without. Maglor had one of his smith's make a copy of the pendant so there would be two. We used them as cloak clasps. And that is who Elrond is. He was willing to take that kind of a risk to reclaim what was ours."

"How did he do it?" Heledhon asked, curiosity caught despite himself. The stealth required would have put the stealth they displayed in the woods to shame.

Elros thought for a moment, then started to speak slowly, "He actually started working on taking Hadhafang back around the time we arrived in Himring. He would sneak into Maedhros' room at night so often that Maedhros got used to it and slept on after years of him doing it. Whenever Maedhros asked, he said it was because he had nightmares, which was often true, so Maedhros never suspected. The night he took back our father's weapons was no different. Maedhros did not stir once."

"That was very smart, not to mention stealthy, but do not take such a risk again. I take it you have decided who will take the knife and who will take Hadhafang?" Gil-galad asked.

Elros nodded, his expression carefully blank, even though there was some hope starting to show through the mask.

"Hadhafang and your father's knife are in my chambers. When you are hale and strong you can have them back." Gil-galad said.

Elros seemed surprised, then smiled, "Again you prove Maedhros wrong, but I will not tell you in what way. Oh...I have something for you." reaching for his saddlebag. Reaching in, he pulled out some letters. "Maglor said if we ever were able to leave Himring, to give these to you. We always had his blessing to leave, but escaping was something that was difficult, since the guards were under orders to shoot anyone that tried to get through the woods at night," passing them out to Galadriel, Celeborn, Círdan, and Gil-galad, "we never opened them, so we do not know what they say."

Just as they were about to open the letters, there was a quiet groan from the inert form lying next to Elros; and Lavaneth renewed her attempts to wake him with vigor.

Elrond twitched slightly; trying to move away from the cat, but was too weak and groggy from the drugs. Elros placed a hand on his cheek, saying, "Elrond, can you hear me?" Elros tried to infuse his voice with something that sounded like hope, even though it was trembling with either excitement or fear, it was hard to tell which.

After a few moments, Elrond's eyes fluttered open; after blinking a few times to bring the world into focus, he locked eyes with his brother. He then smiled slightly and asked hoarsely, "Lindon?"

Elros nodded and smiled even more broadly then when his brother first started showing signs of waking, "Yes, just like I promised on the cliff."

Elrond took a moment to process that information, then started glaring at his brother, "You drugged me!" he exclaimed.

Elros immediately came to his own defense, "You were in a lot of pain; and to top it off you insisted on walking out of the ravine on a broken leg. Forgive me for trying to spare you some pain. And what does it matter? We made it safely to Lindon anyway."

"Just wait, _gwador_, I will get my own back," Elrond muttered relaxing back into his pillows. A moment later, though, a thought came to his mind and he was struggling to rise, a panicked look in his eyes.

Elros easily guessed his thoughts, though, and was able to push him back down; saying at the same time: "Veryafion is safe, _gwador_. She was injured by a warg but will be fine."

"Are you sure?" Elrond asked quietly, his face pale because of the pain caused by him moving around and aggravating his ribs and leg. His head was also spinning slightly and he was looking a little nauseous.

"Have I ever lied to you about something important?" Elros returned.

Elrond smiled, but it looked more like a grimace, "No."

"That should be answer enough for you," Elros said with a smile. "There is someone here who wants to see you." as he helped his brother prop himself up comfortably against some pillows.

Elrond looked around, no expression on his face as he took in those around him. When he saw Lord Círdan, he smiled and seemed like he was about to cry, since his eyes became large and bright.

Círdan smiled as well and nodded. He knew Elrond hadn't been given to public displays of emotion when he was younger and it looked as though that part of his personality hadn't changed. He would greet him privately later.

Elrond continued to look around, stopping for brief moments on Galadriel and Celeborn; smiling slightly at Heledhon and Belegon (remembering their escapades in the woods and avoiding their patrol), and nodding at Faneth, Daeron, and Thawon.

He made an effort to sit up straighter when his eyes fell on the king, but when his ribs protested settled for saying, "You are the High King, aren't you? And our cousin?"

Gil-galad smiled, "Yes to both. I am glad that we are finally meeting."

Elrond smiled slightly and said, "As am I."

That was all he said, but he looked deep into the king's eyes, looking for something. The king was unable to break eye contact, but Elrond broke eye contact first and looked away, seemingly content by what he had seen in the king's eyes.

A few seconds later, there was another knock on the door. Several maids entered, bringing food for all.

Everyone ate, enjoying the meal, and once it was done, Elros asked, "Is there anything else you would like to know or ask Elrond before he falls asleep again?"

"I am not falling asleep anytime soon, brother. I can stay awake to answer some questions." Elrond contradicted, settling back into the pillows and playing with Lavaneth and the other cat, who was named Levenil.

"I think we have one more question, maybe two, but do not answer either unless you want to." Gil-galad said after glancing at Celeborn, Galadriel, and Círdan. Elrond and Elros glanced at each other, then turned their gazes to the king, lords, and lady. The other elves in the room also turned their attention to them, and everyone waited for the question that many had wanted to ask to be asked. Elrond and Elros seemed to know what the question was about and were slightly uneasy, judging by the way both of their eyes took on a nervous light.

"What happened at Sirion?" Celeborn finally asked.

Elrond turned his attention to him fully, "Did anyone survive?"

Celeborn shook his head.

Elrond bowed his head, while Elros grasped his shoulder in support. Elrond's lips moved, but no sound came out. All could only guess he was praying for the fallen elves that hadn't survived the Sack.

"If you do not want to say..." Galadriel said quietly.

Elrond looked up, eyes hard; looking much like his father for a moment, "We will be fine. We always knew that there was a chance no one other than ourselves had survived, but we always hoped maybe a few had survived. I will tell you what I know from that day, and then you can decided after that what to do with the information."

Galadriel nodded; and Elrond started speaking, his eyes distant as he recalled the past, "We do not know where they came from; and in the beginning we didn't know why. Our mother never told us about the bloody past of the Silmarils, and almost never took the jewel out, even though she showed it to us once. It was definitely one of the most beautiful jewels I have ever seen. On the day the Fëanorians came we were in the library with _naneth_ and only knew they were coming when a guard came in. _Naneth_ had the guard assemble a group on horseback at the back courtyard; and took us there. She instructed the guards to get us out of the city and to Lindon. I remember riding through the streets with the guards and seeing the fighting. I remember seeing Amras falling, then the horses being shot out from under us. The guards were then killed defending themselves and us. The last guard standing, Aewenor, told us to get back to the house. There was no way two unarmed children could have survived the road to Lindon, and there was no way out of the city. We knew this and did not argue. I do not think I will ever forget watching him die. He would teach us how to fight with wooden swords at times and was a good friend. But we knew that there was no way to survive by staying where we were. The fighting was heaviest near the gates. By using back roads and shortcuts that no one else was thinking about at the time, we were able to make it back to the house unharmed. Maedhros and Maglor had already killed everyone in the house and had cornered our mother against the cliffs that went down into the sea. Maedhros threatened her, and Maglor begged for the Silmaril; but it did not do any good. She saw us, hiding, and even though it pained her; she did what she knew she had to do. It meant she would never see us again, but she jumped off the cliffs into the Sea, the Silmaril around her neck."

Everyone had been silent up to this point; but upon hearing what Elwing had done they all gasped and shared looks of horror. To jump to certain death was not something many would chose to do, but it may have been for the best, there was no way to know. Elrond continued, not noticing anyone's reactions. Elros had a hand on his brother's shoulder in silent support. It was obvious the elder twin's memory was better than the younger, for Elros did not interrupt once.

"Maedhros and Maglor then noticed us, but then a messenger arrived saying Amras had been killed. While this was going on, a great white bird rose out of the sea where our mother had jumped. I only noticed it because it seemed to be glowing, especially around the neck and head area." Elrond trailed off.

"You think it was your mother?" Galadriel asked.

Elrond nodded, and continued with his story, "Maedhros became incensed at this news and started to come toward us, and we ran. It was easy to see that the lust for blood had an iron grip on him and we did not want to die. Luckily the trail was rocky; you had to know the way very well to be able to get to us safely and quickly. Maedhros didn't and it gave us an advantage, and a head start. We hid up the largest tree in the gardens and no one could get us to come down. No one could come up because the tree wouldn't let them. We eventually had to come down when our hunger and thirst became too much for us. Maedhros was nowhere in sight, but Maglor was there with food for us and a warning to stay away from his brother. The next morning the Fëanorians left for Himring; I was riding with Maglor, Elros rode with the healer, Lainor, that had accompanied the group. Whenever we stopped we avoided Maedhros and some of his followers that were still smarting over losing the Silmaril and would take their anger out on us. Luckily Maglor was there and stopped him before he could even start. After a few weeks we arrived in Himring, where we stayed until we left three years ago."

With the story concluded, Elros looked at Círdan asking him silently with his eyes to stay afterwards. Círdan smiled and nodded; seeing the fear in the younger twin's eyes and knowing that the story, and any others told today may bring back unwanted and painful memories that would result in the twins needing some comfort.

Everyone was silent, until Gil-galad said, "Well, I am glad we know what happened, even though it grieves me who, and what, has been lost in the process to try and reclaim some jewels that have only caused heartache. Especially you two," with a nod at Elrond and Elros, "and I am glad that you survived and made your way here. Know that as long as you want, you can stay. I will not ask you to take any oaths until you are ready. But being kin, you are always welcome here. And now I believe Lady Faneth has a question for you."

Faneth was surprised, and slightly intimidated to be the focus of two curious silver gazes, but recovered quickly, "I have several questions, actually."

Both twins nodded.

"Where did you learn to be healers? Your skills outmatch any elf trained in field healing."

"Lainor, one of the healers in Himring, taught us a few things, since he was the only one interested in being friends and liked the fact we were interested. When we were at Gundabad, the dwarves taught us a few new things that Lainor hadn't taught us, and we learned a bit from our Edain kin as well." Elrond said. "We did not want to be unable to tend any wounds we sustained out in the Wilds, so we started learning whatever we could whenever we could. And it was interesting to us so we wanted to actually learn, not just have to learn for our survival."

"Your skills are quite impressive," Faneth praised. "especially for your age. But that leads me to another question."

The twins again nodded.

"How did you sustain your injuries before you came here?"

Both twins looked as though they didn't want to answer, then Elrond said, "Your turn to tell a story, _gwador_, since you remember more of what happened then I do." as he settled back down into the pillows and turned his attention back to the cats, quietly playing with both of them at once by using his fingers to appear as little rats or something of the like, moving them quickly out of the way interchangeably.

Elros glared at his brother for forcing him to tell the story, but started speaking, "After Heledhon's patrol found our first campsite, we settled a quarter mile away from a small cliff about two hours from the original site. The night before we came to Lindon we were attacked by orcs. They chased us to the cliff and tried to corner us, most likely to take us alive for their "games". Elrond misjudged how close he was to the edge and fell; luckily he landed on an outcropping halfway down and only broke his leg and some ribs. I received the sword wound when I was distracted by him going over the edge. I was able to kill the remaining orcs and climbed down to him. Unfortunately, the part of the ledge I was on gave way and I fell to the ravine floor, breaking my ankle when I tried to land on my feet and acquiring bruises from rolling to a stop against some large stones. I set my ankle, and climbed back up to Elrond. I tended his wounds as best as I could and got him down to the ravine floor, where I waited for him to come around. Our horses already had our supplies and everything packed on because we were planning to go closer to Lindon during the night; so when they came to us at the bottom of the cliff, we had everything we needed. I was able to tend both our wounds more effectively. After Elrond woke and tried to convince me to let him ride alone I drugged him, and the rest you know."

"So how come the sword wound became infected?" Faneth inquired.

Círdan watched as Elros paled and gulped and Elrond turned accusatory eyes on his brother, "You said it was not infected! First you lie to me and then drug me senseless! What were you thinking?!"

"At the time I did not believe it was poisoned," Elros said evenly, amazingly unfazed by his brother's outburst and the glare directed at him, "And the reason it became infected was because we only had enough athelas for one person."

Thawon asked, "And you did not think twice on who needed it more?"

Elros shook his head, "Elrond's injuries were more serious at the time; and I had a feeling we would reach Lindon before my injuries became an issue, which is what happened."

The explanation satisfied Faneth and the others, for Faneth moved on to a question that had been bothering her since she first tended the younger twin yesterday.

"What happened to your hand, _penneth_?" she asked gently, sensing it was a delicate topic for both twins.

Elros froze, staring at the hand in question; while Elrond's blank mask cemented itself even further on his face. It was obvious that neither wanted to speak, but Círdan put a hand on Elros' shoulder. Elros looked at him. Círdan smiled and nodded, showing that he was there to support the twin through the difficult story.

Elros took a deep breath and started his tale: "It happened a month before we left Himring. Maedhros wanted to teach us how to fight left-handed, which isn't easy for young elves who only really fight right-handed. Especially when both young elves are hard-headed and stubborn."

Elrond smiled slightly at that, and Elros also smiled and chuckled slightly before continuing, his face becoming somber in an instance.

"Elrond understood how to do it right away, so Maedhros started working with me. I was not understanding and was getting tired, since it was near the end of the day, and he was getting frustrated. He eventually swung and I was able to block the blow left-handed. He started advancing and sparring harder. Even now I do not really know what happened. All I really remember of the moment is a feeling of extreme agony, and my hand was bleeding heavily. Maedhros had somehow managed to do this."

Elros pulled off the glove, revealing a sight that would haunt all for a long time and something no one ever wanted to see.

The hand seemed to have been held together by the glove and quite a lot of stitches. The stitches were between his fore and middle fingers on both sides of his hand, and went all the way to his wrist. That the wound was sensitive was obvious, for not even Faneth could touch it for long before Elros pulled away.

"The blade went right between your fingers," Faneth murmured in horror, "I cannot imagine how you were able to keep your fingers and your hand. It seems like you should have lost one or the other or both."

"Maedhros did that?" Daeron asked, horrified.

Elros nodded, "This was the last straw for us; we left as soon as I could grip something."

"How is it you did not lose your hand?" Galadriel asked.

Elros hesitated and glanced at his twin, who nodded, and simply said, "The blood of Melian allows us to have some healing abilities. It can be strengthened using athelas. Elrond was able to heal my hand so there would be no lasting damage if I ever let it heal completely. The glove and stitches just keep my hand together so that I can hold things."

Galadriel had been expecting this answer, and simply nodded.

Seeing how tired Elrond was getting, the king stood, "I think we will all leave and let you get some rest. I take it you will stay?" he asked Elros.

Elros nodded as he helped his brother lie down and got him comfortable. Lavaneth curled up near his head and started purring. Elrond was asleep in seconds.

Everyone left, but Círdan stayed. He looked Elros head-on and asked, "Did you really leave Himring with Maedhros' blessing? He may try and collect if he feels you did not leave with his approval."

Elros smiled, "He would not try. Before this time, we had tried to escape twice before; when we were ten and thirty. After the second time, Maedhros said we had his blessing to leave if we could escape from the keep. He would not try and make us come back. We swore no Oath to him or Maglor that we are breaking by leaving Himring. I am not concerned."

Círdan smiled and said, "I am glad that you did not make oaths you cannot break."

"As am I," Elros said with a smile. The smile faded and he started to tremble violently with reaction. Círdan was at his side in a heartbeat; drawing him into a hug and murmuring soothing words into his ear as everything that happened and the horror of his stories caught up to him.

After a few minutes the shaking slowed and stopped and Círdan looked down to find Elros wandering the paths of Elven dreams. He lowered him down carefully and drew the blankets over his sleeping form. Levenil settled next to him and started purring in his ear.

Círdan quietly left, content in the knowledge the twins were alright and everything had turned out well in the end to a certain degree. He knew that they hadn't revealed everything that had happened over the last fifty years, but was certain that when they were ready, they would come to him or Gil-galad for help. He could sense that they trusted the king and may open up to him given time. He was also certain that once they were hail their personalities would truly come to the surface. Círdan grimaced; it would be an interesting few months while they found their places in Mithlond. Especially with Elrond confined to bed and unable to walk. If knowing him when he was younger had any say on the here and now, then he would be very upset and cranky until he could walk again. With that unhappy thought in his mind, the Mariner left to go find Gil-galad, Galadriel, and Celeborn; taking out and reading his letter from Maglor on the way there.

* * *

><p>Círdan found the king, the Lord and the Lady in the king's study. All had the letters from Maglor opened and lying on their laps. Círdan, having read his on the way here, could understand what was going through their minds.<p>

"I take it that your letters said the same as mine to a certain degree?" the Shipwright asked.

Everyone nodded. "It seems we will be in for quite a time with these young elves. I hope we are not in over our heads." Celeborn said.

"I can keep them in line for a time, but they will want and need to stretch their wings. We cannot keep them confined forever." Círdan said.

"I agree, _mellon nín_, but let us wait until they are healed before we make plans," Gil-galad said.

The old Mariner nodded, and left to return to his duties as Galadriel and Celeborn spoke quietly about something to the king that he knew was not his concern right then and there. Maybe later, but not now. 

* * *

><p>The shadow entered his chambers, taking and carefully hiding an object in a hidden compartment. A little while, and his revenge would be complete. He would leave and no one will know it was him. They would most likely blame others, hopefully Eärendil's brats, and he would be in the clear. No one knew what he was doing, and no one would be able to stop him, since no one expected him capable of what he planned.<p>

They would all pay in the worst way possible.

* * *

><p>Translations:<p>

penneth - young one  
>gwador - brother<br>naneth - mother


	12. Chapter 12: Settling In

Three weeks after the twins had arrived, both were recovering well. Elros' broken ankle was completely healed, and he was able to move around as much as he wished. His left arm was also healed, but his right hand would take a little more time. The king had said he couldn't spar or do anything stressful until the healers gave their express permission, so Elros was doing everything in his power to get it to heal. He was very interested in being able to spar again and didn't want his hand to get in the way of that. Luckily his curious nature made it so that he was easily distracted. He had already explored the palace and knew just about everything about it. Heledhon and Belegon had helped with that, and had quickly made friends with both twins. Belegon especially had taken a liking to them when both twins suggested some pranks that he had never heard of to play against Idhrenor. He was looking forward to trying them out.

Elros had also found his way to the stables, with the help of the king, and Heledhon and Belegon, to check on their horses. Gwaereneth had been overjoyed to see him; prancing, whinnying, and racing in circles around him like an over-excited puppy when he went into the pasture. She and Veryafion had been turned out to pasture while Veryafion's wounds healed. The grooms had quickly discovered that both mares were hard-headed and stubborn, and wouldn't do something without a bribe attached. To see Gwaereneth doing what Elros asked when he told her to calm down so that he could get on her bareback was a surprise, but Veryafion's reaction wasn't. She had taken one look at him, knew him to not be the one she wanted to see, and had gone back to grazing. She had also tried to bite him when he walked over to look at her wounds; and even though she was off by a large margin, the message was clear.

"She is like that," Elros told Gil-galad and the others, "She will not react until Elrond is here. She will also be very difficult. Our horses know who is who when it comes to the two of us. At least I can tell him she is recovering well," he continued, then grimaced, "Assuming he does not kill me first."

Elrond was, naturally, very unhappy about being confined to a flat surface. Heledhon and Belegon had been a good way to occupy him, but they had left for another patrol and Elros was often out and about exploring and making friends with anyone who wanted to make friends. The broken bones were healing, but it was a slow process.

Elros had been sympathetic for maybe a day, but the humor of his brother's situation got the better of him and he started teasing Elrond nonstop about the accident with the cliff and telling him about the things he was missing out on in the city.

Elrond had finally thrown a very heavy book at him. As far as missiles went, it wasn't deadly enough to cause damage, but the message was clear enough. The end result was either Elros bringing Elrond whatever he wanted, or if he was in an exceptionally bad mood, leaving him alone for others to deal with. More often than not, Elros would leave it to others, because he knew Elrond would be at the very least polite to those that hadn't earned his ire.

Other than Elrond's bad mood, he was clearly enjoying being with Círdan again and getting to know Gil-galad. He was showing himself to be very observant and focused, and having some skill with politics, which showed itself when he gave clear, insightful, and supported reasons for his opinions involving the council. Elros was the same in that regard; but a bit more brash and outspoken, clearly his mother's son.

Galadriel and Celeborn had left for Eregion a week after the twins arrived. Galadriel had wanted their child to be born there, and if they waited any longer, it would be a very difficult journey for the Lady.

Everyone was saddened to seem them go, especially Elrond and Elros. They had come to look up to the Lord and Lady, and not even their assurances that they would return was enough to raise the twin's spirits. Galadriel, especially, had become a sort of mother figure to them and the twins pined for days after they left.

On a brighter note, Thawon had gone with them. The main reason for his bitterness stemmed from grief and uncertainty. He had been separated from his wife during the Sack of Doriath and did not know what had happened to her.

When they had been separated, she had been struck on the head by a large rock. After waking, she had had no memory, and had wandered until she had come upon Himring. The Fëanorians had taken her in; Maglor feeling grief for the suffering he had caused her, since he remembered her from the Sack. She had remained there for years, and gradually her memories returned; never anything more than a scrap there and whisper there. The first person she had asked for was her husband when everything came back to her when she accidentally hit her head again on a rock. The strike to her head had unlocked her trapped memories. Maglor had let her leave; escorting her as far as he dared, which was the border of Eregion, and making sure she met up with one of their patrols before heading back to Himring.

When the news reached Lindon, to say Thawon was overjoyed was an understatement. He had promptly gone to the king to ask his permission to leave. The king granted his permission without a second thought, glad to see the councilor finally showing joy in life for seemingly the first time since the Sack.

So Thawon had left, and even though everyone breathed a sigh of relief that he was finally gone, the sigh was quickly followed by a smile at how happy he now seemed to be now that he knew his love's fate.

With the Lord and Lady gone, Elrond was left to his own devices most of the time. His brother would help him out onto the balcony now that he could walk with the help of a cane and a helpful arm, get him anything he wanted, and then leave for the day.

Elrond would mostly read, soaking in the sunshine, words, and the sea air that he had missed since being in Himring. Anything in the library fascinated him, and after two weeks he was well enough to hobble to the library with his brother's help everyday and would read anything until well past dinnertime.

It was during one of those evenings that Círdan found him. He had stopped by the library earlier in the day and had noticed that he seemed very distracted.

Círdan did not know what was wrong, but he knew that he needed to speak to the young half-elf. He had a feeling that it had something to do with Sirion or Himring. Elros had come to speak to him to try and understand why Sirion had been destroyed. He had known what the Fëanorians were after, but he didn't understand why they had to destroy the whole city and kill everyone, or why they let the twins live. The talk had helped but Elrond had not sought him out.

Círdan knew that if Elrond did not speak to someone, he may crack under the pressure of nightmares and stress.

With these thoughts in his mind, Círdan went to find Elrond after dinner. He was not in the library, but Elros was under the impression that he had gone back to his quarters now that he did not an extra hand to walk around. He was still too unstable to handle stairs, but a few more weeks and he would be completely healed. Círdan found Elrond in his room, trying to read a book. His distraction was obvious, since the book was upside down and he did not seem to have noticed. Lavaneth was trying to get his attention by caterwauling, but he was so distracted he did not seem to hear her.

"If I did not know better, _penneth_, I would say you were purposefully ignoring her. How you can manage to do so is beneath me, however." Círdan said during a pause between caterwauls.

Elrond did not jump, but it was a near thing. He raised his head so quickly his loose hair fell into his eyes, and his breath quickened considerably.

Upon seeing who it was, though, he relaxed and started petting the cat, who immediately stopped wailing and started purring. He also brushed the loose hair away from his face with his free hand.

"It is one of the advantages of being a twin, uncle. After a little while you can ignore anything," Elrond said with a smile.

Círdan noticed that the smile didn't reach his eyes, though.

"Hmm," was all the reply the statement got. Elrond eventually dropped his eyes back down to the book, unable to continue maintaining eye contact with the ancient elf, who seemed to be reading his eyes to try and find out was going on.

"We need to talk young one," the Shipwright said finally, after studying the young elf for a few minutes. There were lines of stress and fatigue in Elrond's face, and his eyes were starting to get darkness under them from lack of sleep.

"About what, uncle?" Elrond's question drew him out of his musings.

Círdan looked him dead in the eye and said, "Your nightmares, and how they relate to Sirion and whatever else happened. Do not try and lie to me, I know you are not sleeping well."

Elrond opened his mouth, but then closed it. With his father almost never being there, Círdan had taken on the form of an uncle and member of the family. Elrond knew that tone. It was the one that said he wasn't in trouble, yet, but if he didn't start speaking soon he would be.

Unfortunately, Elrond was incredibly stubborn, so it would normally have taken a couple of hours to wear him down enough to reveal what was wrong.

Fortunately, he was incredibly tired; and whether he liked to admit it or not he needed to talk to someone other than his brother. Elros had tried to help, but he knew that Elrond couldn't let go of what happened. He had a secret that only Elros knew, and it was starting to really get to him now that they were in Lindon and weren't with the ones who had held them captive for so long.

Elrond opened his mouth and started speaking. Círdan came over and stretched his legs out in front of him after he got settled on the bed next to him and put his arm around the young elf's shoulder and drawing him close.

"The part we left out about the journey to Himring was what happened on the first night we made camp after leaving the ruins of Sirion. Maedhros was so angry, and the anger got the better of him. Maglor had turned away for a minute, and Lainor was busy elsewhere. Maglor had put us near the fire with the warning not to move until he came back. Did you know that Maedhros paces when he is angry?" Elrond broke off.

Círdan nodded, "Yes, I have heard this."

Elrond continued, "He paced around the fire until he was behind us. He did it so many times that we started to ignore him and let down our guard. That was not a smart thing to do, since we hadn't seen who it was, we just heard them moving around. Maedhros then...then..." Elrond stopped, his voice breaking and tears falling from his eyes.

Círdan pulled him close, wrapping his arms securely around the young elf as he cried. It was obvious that what happened was worse, in a way, than Sirion.

"We did not see him," Elrond finally said after he calmed a bit, "and it was too late to get away from him. He pushed Elros aside with his arm, and pinned me to the ground. He then wrapped his hand around my neck and started squeezing." Elrond stopped again as the tears came, sobbing into the Mariner's shoulder.

Círdan was still there, comforting Elrond even as his anger rose. To harm an innocent child! The twins had done nothing to Maedhros or his brother; they did not deserve what had happened.

Elrond, it seemed, was almost completely spent with his tears, for his quavering voice could now be heard over Lavaneth's purring and Círdan's soothing voice.

"Elros screamed, and Maglor and Lainor ran over. Maglor wrestled Maedhros off while Lainor grabbed me. My throat hurt for almost a week, but it was after this incident that Maglor told us to stay away from his brother. It was after this that we decided to try and escape whenever we got the opportunity. It also meant that it takes a lot to earn our complete trust. You earned it without a shadow of a doubt, and so has the king, but I do not if I can ever trust again."

With his revelation finished, more tears came. Círdan let him cry, knowing it could not do any harm, and would help him relieve some tension.

After a little while, the tears stopped and Elrond collapsed exhaustively against the Mariner, who continued to hold him close. Elrond's ear was pressed against his chest, listening to his heart beat in a steady, soothing rhythm.

After a few moments, Círdan said, "Is this why you have not been sleeping?"

Elrond's head moving up and down was the only response he received. "Most of the time I am able to forget what happened, but I have been dreaming about it frequently of late. I do not know why I keep seeing him now, his face bathed from the light of the fire, the desire for blood in his eyes."

"You have been dreaming thus because you have not let go of what happened at Sirion or what you had just described. I know you do not feel as though you can, but you must try, if only to help you rest."

"I do not know how," Elrond whispered brokenly.

"One day at a time young one. And come to me when the nightmares return, or go to Gil-galad. He is anxious to help you if you will let him," Círdan said.

Elrond nodded tiredly, his eyelids drooping. This conversation had drained him, and now his body was demanding the sleep his mind had denied him. After a few seconds, he jerked awake, too jumpy to rest and unsure of what would happen when he did finally sleep.

Círdan smiled, and gently kissed Elrond's forehead. He then adjusted himself to be a bit more comfortable against the headboard of the bed, and pulled Elrond into his arms even more to get him as comfortable as possible before sleep came over him.

"Rest without fear, child," he whispered, "I will guard your sleep tonight."

There was no response. Looking down, he saw that Elrond's eyes were finally closed, and it seemed as though he was already deeply asleep. He smiled slightly and started to stare out the window as the stars came out. He watched as a new star appeared and slowly made its way across the heavens, shining more brightly than the others, it seemed, when Elrond came in to view.

Elrond's dreams were peaceful that night, feeling safe and secure for the first time in years. When he woke the Mariner was gone, and his heart felt significantly lighter. He still feared the night because of the darkness and what he knew it could be hiding, but now he knew that there were people in Lindon willing to listen and understand his fear.

And that was all he needed to put his mind at ease and learn to accept and understand.

For now, at least.

* * *

><p>Círdan found Gil-galad in his study after he broke his fast that morning. He quickly repeated everything Elrond had told him and they both came to the conclusion to do whatever it took to help the twins overcome what they had been through.<p>

Gil-galad was also extremely angry with Maedhros, but knew that there was nothing that could be done about it for now. Maybe some other time, but not now, since Himring was out of reach of everyone.

* * *

><p>The shadow was pleased when he saw Círdan spend the night with the elder twin, and even more please when he overheard the conversation the two of them had. His plan would be put into play soon.<p>

The pieces would be all in place in a few months.

* * *

><p>Translations:<p>

penneth – little one

A/N: I am sorry that Galadriel and Celeborn won't be in the story anymore, but another writer thought it would be awkward if Elrond knew Celebrían from the time she was born. I agree. So I have decided to write them out of this story. They will have important parts to play in other stories I plan to write, but for now I think it was time to let them go. Plus, Celebrían may have been born in Eregion, so it was good fit to have them leave when they did.

Also Thawon's leaving the story is a bit spur of the moment, please let me know if you think he should continue to be in this story. I am not sure what role he would have so I thought I would get him out while I had the chance.

I am not a psychologist, or a doctor, so I am going off what other people write about elvish healing. I am also not a very deep person, and I'm not really sure how to convey emotions through writing. It is something I am working on and hope to improve it through this. Please let me know how I am doing.


	13. Chapter 13: Twice the Trouble

A/N: This is unfortunately a filler chapter with absolutely no action, that will be the next chapter. I need to research sparring moves, if anyone knows a good website for that, please let me know in a review. It would be very helpful, because I want to make this as accurate as possible. And if anyone knows a website for dwarven names, please let me know. Any and all help is appreciated.

Please read, review, and enjoy. Let me know if something doesn't seem right or if you think it doesn't flow. I will maybe have the next chapter up in a couple weeks ("maybe" being the operative word), so I want to fix anything I need to fix while I am working on chapter 14. I have a long weekend coming soon, so I should be able to get some writing in then. We will see. But until then, read and enjoy. I aim to please!

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><p>After three months, Elrond had changed drastically, both physically and emotionally. His leg was completely healed, even though there were still some aches and pains from it being kept stiff for so long, and he had had no nightmares since his talk with Círdan.<p>

With his leg healed, Elros had taken his twin all over the city; showing him his favorite places, like the gardens where, coincidentally, Círdan had gone to find comfort from the trees, as well as his best hiding places for when the need aroused. Elros had also taken him all over the palace, making sure his brother knew his way around, so that there would be no concern about him getting lost. He also showed Elrond some of the more secret locations in and around the palace, same as the city. The first place, however, that Elros dragged his brother to was the stables, to see their horses...

_"Gwaereneth," Elros called as Elrond, Heledhon, Belegon, Idhrenor, and himself approached the pasture fence. The mare trotted forward, nodding her head up and down, and nudging hands for a petting. All obliged, except for Elrond. He was focused on the mare that was at the other end of the pasture, ignoring them all._

_Veryafion was at the far end of the pasture, not paying them any attention. She had become impossible to catch, so the stable hands were leaving her alone. The stitches in her rump had come out the day before, and the scars were barely visible. In time they would fade completely. The mare was still as cranky as ever, and only Nestor had been able to get close enough to remove the stitches._

_"I do not think she knows you are here, gwador." Elros said to Elrond._

_Elrond smiled and nodded. He then put two fingers in his mouth and let out a very loud, very shrill whistle._

_Veryafion's head shot up, and she turned her head toward the opposite side of the field. Upon seeing Elrond; her ears went forward, she took a deep breath as she caught his scent, and then whinnied joyfully as her nose confirmed what her eyes had seen. She then reared on her back legs, whinnying in joy all the while, came down and started racing across the field._

_Elros glanced at his brother nervously, "Do you think she will jump out like she did last time?"_

_Elrond nodded, looking as though he dreaded and anticipated the next few moments, "Probably."_

_Heledhon, Belegon, and Idhrenor all glanced nervously at each other, and Braigon paled considerably. He had come over when he saw the five of them, and he still remembered the last time a horse had attempted to jump a fence. It had taken a week to repair the fence, and the horse had had to be retired. She was now used as a broodmare; as well as teaching young children how to ride, only being able to go at a slow walk and trot. She could only carry a rider of an extremely light weight._

_Braigon was not looking forward to a repeat of this incident, and so stepped forward and said, "Do not let her jump, young one! It will not end well for her!"_

_It was too little, too late. Everyone, except Elrond and Elros, watched in horror as the mare gathered herself and leaped. After five seconds, the horror turned to awe as she cleared the four and a half foot fence with about a foot to spare._

_She landed; and raced over to Elrond, who had moved toward her. She was nickering excitedly, and prancing in place. She was also nuzzling him as much as possible, begging for attention from her favorite person. He obliged, and she started licking his face and free hand. He in turn was scratching her favorite place behind her ears and under her chin._

_Elros glanced at the others, noting their shocked expressions. He smiled and said, "I have yet to see a fence or obstacle Veryafion cannot jump. Thankfully she never does it all the time."_

"_And thankfully she does not need to do so, otherwise it would become an impossible habit to break." Elrond said as he led her back into the pasture. Once back in, she bowed, asking him to get on her. He obliged and once she was on all four feet again she started prancing in place. Elrond got settled on her and once she felt that his weight was centered, she took off galloping across the field, where she started bucking every now and again with joy._

_The others smiled and laughed at the sight of the mare being so full of joy again. They then left so that Elrond and Elros could spend time with their horses and ride them for a little bit. They knew that Elros knew where he wanted to take his brother next and how to get there. They also knew that they did not want to be there when he did so. Only fools went exploring in the caves that dotted the beaches and shores near the city. And only fools did not expect to get lost. The caves were in fact off limits to all by order of the king, but he knew that the twins would feel more comfortable if they knew the entire area, so let them explore so long as they were back by dinner. Those caves were a maze of tunnels and corridors that not even a dwarf could successfully navigate. Luckily, Elros had not managed to get lost yet, but all were of the opinion it was only a matter of time. Heledhon and Belegon knew to let the king know if there was no sign of them by dinner, but for now it seemed as though it wouldn't be a problem. Besides, both twins were very smart and Elros seemed to have a method to not get lost._

* * *

><p>There was an unfortunate downside to being twins, and identical twins at that. When one twin had done something wrong without his brother's knowledge, there was a chance of being confused with the guilty party and being brought before the king to be reprimanded. Elrond had the misfortune of learning this for himself one day.<p>

He had been reading a draft of something that Gil-galad wanted his opinion on. Elrond was showing himself to be able to judge a piece of writing dispassionately and find all the good and bad in it. The draft was Gil-galad's attempt to tell someone that their request was denied in as polite a way as possible. It wasn't going well, which made Elrond very amused. He was still chuckling quietly when a councilor, Glaeron, came in.

Seeing the way the young elf was laughing slightly, Glaeron immediately assumed the twin was responsible for his problem. Considering the fact that both twins were pulling pranks on unsuspecting victims, it was a well educated guess. And since they looked alike and acted the same more often than not when the mood struck them, telling them apart was nearly impossible.

So it was with these thoughts in his mind that Glaeron assumed that Elrond was Elros and therefore the guilty party in the prank that left his desk drawers glued shut.

He was by Elrond's side in a heartbeat, and before Elrond had fully grasped the situation, Glaeron had grasped his arm and started pulling him out of the room and down the hallway. Elrond only had a split second to grab the draft before he was dragged in the direction of the king's study.

"What is wrong, Councilor Glaeron?" Elrond asked, completely mystified.

The councilor seemed to be too angry to answer, since all he did was shake his head and continue to drag the half-elf down the hallway.

Within five minutes they had reached the king's study, and the councilor was knocking on the door. The guards on either side seemed puzzled, and one glance at Elrond said he had no idea what was going on.

"_Minno_," the king's voice sounded from the opposite side of the door. The councilor entered, dragging Elrond who still seemed confused, but not letting it show on his face. He had perfected a blank mask sometime in his life and was very adept at hiding his thoughts and emotions when he wanted to. Someone had to know him very well to see past the mask.

The king was seated at his desk, going over the daily reports and requests that required his attention. He glanced up when he saw who came in, and stopped short when he saw the angry expression on Glaeron's face and the baffled look in Elrond's eyes. The king sighed. It was going to be one of _those_ conversations then. He reached up and rubbed his forehead, a headache already forming behind his eyes with a vengeance.

'How I wish Eärendil had not sired sons as mischievous as himself when he had been a child.' he thought before addressing the councilor.

"What seems to be the problem?" the king asked wearily, already dreading the response.

"This...this...this impertinent youth glued my desk drawers in a way that makes it impossible to open them!" Glaeron exclaimed angrily.

Elrond's eyebrows shot up, but before he could defend himself, the king asked, "Is this true, Elrond?"

Unlike everyone else, he knew which twin was which. Elrond was significantly quieter when angry, but when he finally lost his temper it was not a pretty sight. Gil-galad had seen it happen once before, and he would like to avoid it as much as possible. His words also had more bite to them, and there was almost always steel behind his words when he did choose to speak.

"I honestly do not know what is happening, my lord," Elrond said in an emotionless tone, eyes and face carefully blank, "but perhaps my brother knows. Should I go find him and bring him here?"

Gil-galad nodded, and Elrond left. He came back five minutes later, practically dragging his brother into the room by his wrist. His left wrist, thankfully, since even though his right hand was doing much better, it was still very tender and sore at times. But the healers were pleased with its healing, which was enough for Elros right now. He could still use the hand to do whatever he pleased, like pulling pranks that required both hands at times.

Right now however, Elros was looking dejected, as though he knew what was going on and how much trouble he was in.

Gil-galad turned his attention back to the councilor, saying, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will handle this situation. You may go."

The councilor almost protested; but when he saw the angry light that appeared in his king's eyes, he inclined his head, bowed, and quietly left.

Gil-galad looked from twin to twin, "Do I want to know why and how you did this, Elros? And do I want to know why it had to happen to Glaeron? You know he does not appreciate pranks."

Elros shook his head, but Elrond said, "I think I know why cousin."

Gil-galad nodded, and Elrond said, "The reason why we have been pulling pranks is because we are bored. Our wounds have almost completely healed, except for Elros' hand, and now we need something to do; be it a patrol or letting us attend council meetings. As for the unfortunate victim this time; I think Glaeron's office was the nearest one that Elros could get to on short notice. On the bright side, there is a solvent that will remove most of the glue."

"That is good to hear, since I am not interested in getting a new desk for Glaeron, because he insists on keeping that rickety old desk for some reason. I never knew that someone could be come emotionally attached to a desk of all things," the king said, then fell silent. What Elrond said made sense, in a twisted sort of way, but it made sense. They were still young, and too much their parents children to wait around for boring tasks that they were not very good at, as in the case of Elros and paperwork.

Gil-galad bowed his head, but when he looked up his face was carefully blank and his eyes were sparkling. It was hard to tell if they were sparkling with compassion or anger, though. It could have been both for all the twins knew.

"You speak the truth, Elrond. But answer me this, Elros: when do you think your hand will be healed? And can you bear to be separated if I decide to keep one of you here?"

"My hand should be completely healed in a few months, cousin. I can wait that long," Elros answered, starting to look slightly excited at the way this conversation was going.

"Without pulling pranks on unsuspecting victims, who most likely do not deserve it anyway?"

Elros smiled and nodded, while Elrond said, "Neither of us mind being separated for patrols. Maglor and Maedhros did it a few times. We only want to be close to each other when one of us is injured, which luckily does not happen very often."

Gil-galad nodded, his mind convinced, "Very well, how about a compromise: if you agree to hold off on pranks, at the very least until Elros' hand completely heals, and also let us see how well you spar, then you may go on patrol. Acceptable? We know that you are excellent swordsmen, but we would like to see for ourselves to put our minds at ease."

The elated nods were the only answers he received, but he knew that his compromise was what the twins needed. They had been cooped up for too long, and it was starting to show in the frustrated looks and impatient snaps. Elros had even snapped at Círdan, but luckily the Shipwright understood where it was coming from, and Elros only got a slight glare from the Shipwright. He had apologized later, but it was obvious that they needed to get out and satisfy their desire to learn more about the new land that they had decided to make their home. And truth be told, Gil-galad needed a break from them. They were mischievous, reckless, and full of energy, and now he understood what Círdan had gone through whenever he had gone to Sirion when their father was away and they needed a way to release that energy. Círdan had even confirmed that even though the energy was slightly more tame and dormant, it was still there, a driving force that needed an outlet or else they would think of their own ways to let out all that extra energy.

"Very well, that is enough for me. But perhaps to have some peace and quiet, you can anticipate the arrival of the dwarves of Gundabad. They should be here in about three months, and Lord Durin will be coming with his son. Apparently he wants his son to learn about the elvish way and make good relations on his own without help from his father. Do you think you can help with that, and keep your pranks in check?"

The identical, open grins of joy and nods said they would agree to anything if they could see their dwarven friends again.

"Now that that is settled, Elrond what do you think of that draft I asked you to review?"

Elrond grimaced slightly, "It needs more...subtlety, I think."

Gil-galad let out a depressed sigh. Subtlety was not something that he was good at, it seemed, because this was the fifth time Elrond had said so when it came to a written document. Either way, Elrond's opinions were unbiased and dispassionately given, which was hard to find in someone. Given time, Elrond would make a great leader. Both of them would. But for now, it was all Gil-galad and Círdan could do to control them while their friends were away on patrol and there was nothing for them to do. Heledhon was in the city, but that was all. Belegon had left, but Heledhon and Faneth still needed to prepare a bit for the wedding.

The king had now forbidden Heledhon from going on patrol until he was married, since he could not bare to be separated from her for long. The rest of his patrol had never seen him so jumpy, and it grated on all their nerves. So he was now stuck in the city, which was good enough for him, since he was happy to be home with his beloved and not distracted by thoughts of her all day long while out on patrol. That could make for a dangerous patrol if he was not careful. It also made it possible for him to help train new recruits and get used to the routine of being in the city, since he wasn't going on a patrol right away after he was married. Heledhon and Faneth still needed to find a place to live that was near to the palace so that Faneth could get to the healing wing on time everyday, and near enough to the training grounds for Heledhon. The search was not going well right now, since the only house that was perfect for their needs seemed to already be claimed by someone else.

Elrond and Elros couldn't spar until they were deemed healthy enough, and even though Elros' hand was at a point where the stitches were coming out a couple at a time each day, Elrond's previously broken leg still gave him trouble from time to time. It would take a few more months for both of them heal completely. Hopefully, keeping themselves out of trouble so that they could see their dwarven friends would make it possible for the city to still be standing by the end of three months.

Gil-galad turned to Elrond, "Please leave the draft on my desk, and then you may go. I need to speak with your supposedly mature brother."

Elrond smiled and nodded, quickly leaving the draft and the room and completely ignoring the glare Elros sent him. It seemed that Elrond was glad that he was not getting yelled at this time, and was not going to stay to hear the impending lecture. Stupid he was not, and knew when to vacate an area that he did not need to be in.

As the door closed, the king could be seen slowly rising from his chair and narrowing his eyes at the young half-elf.

An hour later, Elros came out, looking suitably chastised and terror-stricken, while the guards looked slightly sympathetic and extremely amused.

The king's voice had gotten very loud, and the threats were amusing. The punishment involved apologizing to Glaeron and helping un-glue his desk with their mystery solvent. Gil-galad refused to know what it was made of, or how they knew it would work. He also had to help Glaeron with whatever he needed for the next few months until his hand completely healed and the dwarven delegation arrived from Gundabad. He was also confined to the palace and could not leave under any circumstances. He and his brother could also not swap places so that Elros could get out and about. They had done so once before and when the king and Círdan had found out they had not been amused. Scarily enough, Gil-galad and Círdan were getting wise to the twins tricks.

'If I am getting wise to the twins tricks, then I shudder to think of what will happen when they think of one that I am not aware of. What they suggested to Belegon about what to do Idhrenor was not amusing.' Gil-galad thought, then shook his head and returned to the papers on his desk. That incident with Idhrenor had taken two weeks to clean up, since red paint doesn't wash off of someone very quickly.

'I do not even want to know where they were able to find all that paint. I do not think the painters can even make paint that quickly.'

* * *

><p>The shadow kept moving, determined to find what he was looking for. A few moments later, he had turned the corner and come across what he needed to find. A cruel smile lit up his features. There it was, right where the ancient map he had found in the library said it would be. Now to see if it would suit his purposes. He had a feeling that it would.<p>

* * *

><p>Translations:<p>

gwador – brother  
>minno – enter<p> 


End file.
